Paraguay Senate removes President Peña over banking crisis

Asuncion [Paraguay], November 7: Paraguay's Senate voted on Friday to remove President Santiago Peña from office over a banking crisis that left millions of depositors unable to access their funds, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The vote came a day after Peña submitted his resignation amid the crisis, although Congress did not complete consideration of his resignation and proceeded instead with the impeachment process.
The crisis erupted after Paraguay's Central Bank moved to take control of Ueno Bank earlier in the week over concerns about its solvency, freezing access to deposits held by around three million customers, nearly half the country's population, including pensioners, and triggering protests across the country.
Peña had previously held links to the bank's controlling group.
The Chamber of Deputies voted on Thursday to launch impeachment proceedings against Peña, with lawmakers from the ruling Colorado Party joining the move over allegations of misconduct and conflict of interest linked to the banking crisis.
The Senate subsequently voted unanimously among the 44 senators present to remove Peña from office following the collapse of Ueno Bank.
Source: Emirates News Agency