Senator Rafael Filizzola (PDP) publicly demanded that the president of the Social Security Institute (IPS), Isaías Fretes, explain the allocation of billions of guaranis from pension funds to Ueno Bank, an institution linked to Grupo Vázquez SAE, owned by businessman Federico Miguel Vázquez, a former business partner of President Santiago Peña. In a post on the social media platform X, Filizzola stated that essential financial security requirements were relaxed to allow the bank to begin managing these funds.
Filizzola questioned whether the regulation would remain tailored to an entity tied to President Peña or whether the standards protecting the assets of retirees and contributors would be restored. The senator compared the case to the episode involving medical equipment from the firm Neighpart SA abandoned at the Central Hospital, a loss of US$20 million, and stressed that this time it is directly retirees' money and far larger sums at stake.
According to the lawmaker, Ueno Bank went from zero to G. 2.1 billion in just 30 months, concentrating 12% of the entire portfolio of the IPS Retirement and Pension Fund and becoming the second-largest recipient of the institute's resources. The first deposit, of G. 70 billion, took place in September 2023, one month after Peña took office as President of the Republic.
According to Filizzola, the change was made possible by a significant loosening of investment rules for pension funds, including lowering to 60 points the minimum required for participation by financial entities, changing the requirement for a credit rating equal to or higher than "A," and completely eliminating the effective capital requirement, previously considered essential for the prudent investment of funds.
Fretes took over the presidency of the IPS in April of this year, following the resignation of Jorge Brítez.