Itaipu Binacional said it is pursuing legal and administrative steps to recover about $182.2 million deposited with Ueno Bank, which Paraguay’s central bank dissolved on Nov. 3. (Foto: Instagram)
Itaipu Binacional’s Paraguayan side had deposits worth about $182.2 million at Ueno Bank, a digital lender dissolved by Paraguay’s central bank. The utility said it is pursuing legal and administrative steps to recover the money, while maintaining that the bank’s collapse has not disrupted its operations.
In a statement posted on Nov. 7, 2026, Itaipu said its deposits totaled $163.8 million and 115.2 billion Paraguayan guaraníes. Together, the amounts were equivalent to approximately $182.2 million, or about 1.003 billion Brazilian reais based on the exchange rate in Brazil on Nov. 6. Itaipu said the funds represented 7.6% of the money it had received through transfers from Brazil since it began operating with Ueno Bank in January 2025.
The company also reported “historically high levels of cash availability in Paraguay” from 2024 through 2026, saying transfers from Brazil to Paraguay during that period totaled $2.409 billion. Itaipu said those funds included revenue received from the National Electricity Administration, known as ANDE, as well as transfers between the utility’s accounts. The money was allocated according to cash-flow needs for contractual obligations and commitments arising from agreements, the statement said.
Itaipu said the bank’s failure would not affect the normal development of its activities. It added that it had begun legal proceedings before Paraguay’s State Attorney General’s Office to recover the deposits. The company is also following procedures set by the Central Bank of Paraguay, it said, in an effort to pursue all necessary legal and administrative measures.
The central bank dissolved Ueno on Nov. 3 after determining that its solvency had fallen to less than half the required level. Ueno had 2.9 million customers, or about 40% of Paraguay’s population, and was the country’s largest digital bank. Following its dissolution, thousands of customers were unable to access deposited funds.
Paraguay’s Public Prosecutor’s Office has accused the bank of manipulating its financial position to make its operations appear credible and of granting loans and concessions to companies linked to the group that controlled it. Santiago Peña, who held shares in the controlling group until last year, was also under criminal investigation over alleged involvement in the financial scandal.
Paraguay’s Congress impeached Peña over two days: the Chamber of Deputies unanimously opened the proceedings on Thursday, and the Senate voted to remove him on Friday. Police arrested him at his home in Asunción on Friday night. On Saturday, a court ordered his pretrial detention at the request of prosecutors.
