Millions of people in Taiwan's allied countries are unable to withdraw their deposits. Bank collapse has raised doubts about 26 billion in funds. The youngest president was impeached and then detained.

Protesters in Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, burnt a mock-up of President Penha's face. The collapse of Ueno Bank triggered strong indignation among the Paraguayan people. The funds of more than 2.9 million customers and millions of investments in public institutions were frozen.

Prosecutors in Paraguay, Taiwan's friendly country in South America, today filed criminal charges against impeached President Santiago Peña, including breach of trust and profiteering, and requested the court to place him in preventive detention. Pena was accused on Saturday (7th) of having business ties to a large online bank whose sudden collapse left millions unable to withdraw their deposits and triggered angry protests.

Pena, the youngest former president in Paraguay's history at only 47 years old, was dismissed by the Senate on Friday (6th) three days after the collapse of a major bank with which he had business ties. Pena offered to resign, but was impeached by lawmakers, stripping him of the immunity he would have enjoyed had he resigned.

In a fast-moving series of events, Pena was brought before prosecutors on Saturday and charged with "breach of trust and mismanagement for personal gain."

Ueno Bank is a popular online bank that holds accounts for nearly half of Paraguay's 6.5 million people and holds more than $800 million in government funds. The bank's collapse rocked the otherwise stable small country and sparked street protests.

Pena, who takes power in 2023, held a stake in Ueno Holdings, the bank's holding company, until he sold it last year.

Pena is accused of using his presidential influence to channel millions of dollars in government deposits to Ueno Bank and concealing or downplaying the bank's financial troubles, despite warnings that he had questionable loans and solvency problems.

Pena has also been accused of a conflict of interest because of his appointment of former Ueno Bank president Carlos Carvallo as head of Paraguay's central bank.

Pena's lawyer, Ricardo Preda, denied the charges against his client and said in Paraguay it was not the president but ministers who decided where government funds were kept.

After a hearing with Pena on Saturday, Judge Hernan Otazu told reporters that he had ordered the former president to be held in pretrial detention at the same facility in Asuncion where he was being held after he was removed from office on Friday.

A judge froze the assets of Pena and Carvalho, who faces the same charges as the former president, plus charges of falsifying government documents.

The central bank said it has begun paying compensation to customers affected by the collapse of Ueno Bank, and more than 50% of customers have received their funds back.

Peña was succeeded by Vice President Pedro Alliana, who promised not to abandon savers affected by Ueno's death, including retirees.