ASUNCION, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Former Paraguayan President Santiago Pena could face up to 15 years in prison for alleged breach of trust and self-serving administration in the Ueno Bank fraud case, prosecutor Veronica Valdez of the Specialized Unit for Economic Crimes and Anti-Corruption (UDEA) said on Wednesday.
The Public Prosecutor's Office held a press conference on Wednesday to update the progress of its investigation into the embezzlement at Ueno Bank, which also involves former central bank chief Carlos Carvallo.
For the moment, the Public Prosecutor's Office does not have sufficient evidence to charge Pena with criminal association in the case of the bank's dissolution, an offense that could increase the prison term for the accused, the UDEA prosecutor said.
The former president has been in pretrial detention since the night of Nov. 6, after being removed from office through impeachment in the Senate.
For his part, Deputy Prosecutor for International Affairs Manuel Doldan said they are working with cooperating jurisdictions to locate and secure assets of the former president and other defendants abroad.
Doldan said a formal letter rogatory was sent to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, with information provided by the European Public Prosecutor's Office and other agencies, in order to secure assets with a view to their forfeiture.
He added that formal requests were also sent to Eurojust and the European Public Prosecutor's Office, and that the prosecution is working with the International Centre for Asset Recovery.
The prosecution also turned to the Asset Recovery Network of the Financial Action Task Force of Latin America to quickly trace, locate and freeze assets, money or proceeds of illicit activities abroad.
For the first time, Paraguay has activated Interpol's Silver Notice, which allows the search for assets abroad, while it is working with Argentina on the possibility of forming joint commissions, the deputy prosecutor added. ■
