How a bank scandal toppled a trusted Trump ally

Detailed summary

The US President Donald Trump has made no secret of trying to turn South America into his private backyard, but the people of one country in the region have dealt that plan a grievous blow.

Officials at the Inter-American Development Bank’s investment arm suspected something was off almost as soon as they walked through the doors of Paraguay’s Ueno Bank SA.

The sleek office building in Asunción, dubbed “The Matrix”, was overcrowded with young employees. The glass panels, polished wood and fancy art seemed better suited to a cash-rich start-up than a business that catered to some of the country’s poorest people.

Bank executives hosted lunch in a private suite with chefs and butlers, seen as a gaudy excess by IDB employees used to less ostentation.

IDB Invest was mulling an equity stake in Ueno, but the visit in 2025 raised too many red flags, according to people familiar with what happened who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorised to speak with the press. An IDB Invest spokesperson declined to comment.

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Age. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.