Authorities found two safes at Ueno Bank’s headquarters in Asunción, including one concealed behind a bathroom wall. (Foto: Instagram)
Authorities found two safes during a search of Ueno Bank’s headquarters in Asunción, Paraguay. One was concealed behind a wall near a bathroom. Prosecutor Silvio Corbeta said investigators were at the site seeking documents when they noticed something unusual.
The hidden safe was located behind a bathroom in what investigators described as a false compartment. According to the newspaper ABC, opening its first door took several hours. Work was paused and was expected to resume Tuesday, November 10, to open a second door.
Investigators opened the other safe and found documents inside, but they have not disclosed what the papers contain. The report did not specify whether investigators had accessed the contents of the concealed safe after the work was interrupted.
A separate concealed safe was also found at the home of former President Santiago Peña. It sits behind a secret passage and a false wall and has four security stages. The safe uses Israeli technology and requires access codes, multiple checks and recognition of the owner’s iris. Investigators have not yet been able to open it.
Ueno was one of Paraguay’s largest banks, with about 3 million customers. The Central Bank of Paraguay declared it insolvent and suspended its operations on November 3. The move followed regulators’ discovery of poorly documented loans to companies linked to the bank’s owners.
