Paraguayan Opposition Demands Audit of President's Assets Amid Wealth Surge Claims

Opposition lawmakers in Paraguay have formally requested the Public Prosecutor's Office to conduct a comprehensive forensic audit of President Santiago Peña's financial declarations and assets. This demand follows allegations that the president's wealth has surged by an astonishing 2,400% in recent years, sparking concerns about potential illicit enrichment.

The petition, submitted to the Specialized Unit for Economic and Anticorruption Crimes, urges the effective advancement of a criminal investigation initiated last year. The opposition initially filed a complaint against Peña for alleged illicit enrichment, money laundering, influence peddling, and embezzlement.

Lawmakers argue that Peña's asset declaration, submitted since he took office in August 2023, contains discrepancies between his known income and declared wealth. They are calling for the appointment of forensic accountants to analyze the evolution of the president's assets, cross-referencing bank, tax, and stock market information to determine the technical correspondence between his income and accumulated wealth.

“

A person on average, no matter how high their salary, does not enrich themselves by 2,400% in such a short time; that indication is strong enough (to suspect illicit enrichment).

While the Comptroller General's Office recently sent a report to the Prosecutor's Office stating it found "correspondence" between Peña's declared assets and his income, opposition senators have strongly contested this conclusion. Senator Rafael Filizzola, one of the complainants, asserted that the Comptroller's Office "did not do its job" and that the report "omits the critical part where he (Peña) is exponentially enriching himself."

Filizzola emphasized that such a dramatic increase in wealth over a short period is highly suspicious and warrants further investigation into potential illicit enrichment. Former Senator Kattya González, acting as legal counsel for the complainants, added that the Prosecutor's Office must address the request, as the origin of the president's fortune is a significant matter. The opposition also pointed to a nearly $1 million loan Peña received for a luxury home on land he does not own, noting that the bank and construction company involved have since secured state contracts.

“

If this doesn't smell bad to the Prosecutor's Office, it's because they are in this mafia (secret meeting for illicit purposes) conclave.