Secret safe discovered in the villa of former Paraguayan president who was dismissed from office (comprehensive)

On the 6th (local time), a secret safe with a state-of-the-art security system was discovered at the summer villa of former Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, who was dismissed for involvement in banking corruption.

Local media ABC Color reported on the 9th that prosecutors and police searched former President Peña's San Verdiano villa over two days from the evening of the 8th to the early morning of the 9th and found a secret safe hidden behind a temporary wall.

This safe is believed to have been made in Israel and has been designed with a multi-security system that combines iris recognition, fingerprint recognition, and password entry, so investigative authorities have not been able to open it to date.

In order to open the safe, the prosecution plans to bring the former first lady to the scene and compare iris information, as well as to use all available means, including explosions.

The San Verdiano villa, where the secret safe was discovered, was built with a loan of 3.548 billion Guarani (approximately 800 million won) from Ueno Bank during 2024-2025, when former President Peña was in office.

The monthly loan repayment alone is 239 million guarani, which is six times the president's salary. The total asset value of the villa is estimated to be about $2 million (about 2.7 billion won).

Previously, the prosecution indicted former President Peña, saying he provided preferential treatment to Ueno Bank, which was suspended due to poor management, by funneling public funds worth close to $1 billion. Former President Peña is detained at a military base and awaiting trial.

Meanwhile, the new President of Paraguay, Pedro Aliana, who took over the remainder of Peña's term, requested that all ministers and vice ministers of the previous administration submit letters of resignation.

According to AFP, President Aliana, who served as vice president in the previous government, instructed his chief of staff to "request resignations from ministers, deputy ministers, and heads of top state agencies."

He took over the presidency immediately after former President Peña was impeached and took these measures to reform state affairs and achieve internal coordination.

However, some point out that Aliana is not completely free from political responsibility in relation to the 'Ueno Bank Incident' as she also served as Vice President, the second-in-command in the Peña government.