Asuncion (Paraguay) (AFP) - Senators opened an impeachment trial against Paraguay’s president Friday after the collapse of a major bank locked almost half the population out of their accounts and triggered widespread protests.

Santiago Pena offered his resignation, but lawmakers pressed ahead with impeachment proceedings that would strip him of immunity granted to former presidents.

Around three million people have been unable to access their money since the Central Bank took control of Ueno bank on Tuesday and froze its accounts over concerns for its solvency.

The demise of the bank brought thousands of people onto the streets demanding that US-backed Pena, who had a stake in the group that controlled Ueno until last year, face justice.

MPs from the ruling Colorado Party abandoned Pena on Thursday and voted in favor of launching impeachment proceedings.

In an address to the nation on Thursday, 47-year-old Pena said he wanted to “apologize to the people if at any point I failed.”

“It was never my intention to betray the trust you placed in me,” he added.

On Friday, he sought a three-day postponement to the impeachment trial, saying he needed more time to prepare his defense.

The Senate rejected the request and immediately launched discussions on his removal.

Ueno began out as a small fintech company with a digital-first model that attracted many low-income customers.

It rapidly grew into a major bank that handled state pensions and the accounts of several state entities.

The opposition accuses Pena of conflict of interest, which he denies.

Opposition MP Raul Benitez accused Pena of operating a “criminal scheme.”

The Attorney General’s Office said it was investigating him for “acts related to the supervision and resolution of Ueno Bank S.A. and the placement of public funds in said entity.”

The US Embassy in Paraguay expressed “its solidarity with the Paraguayan people” on Friday, without mentioning the president.

- Depositors’ anger -

The demise of the bank came as a shock in the South American country, which is generally seen as economically and politically stable.

The opposition wants to impeach Pena, rather than let him resign.

If he resigns, he will automatically become a senator for life and enjoy immunity from prosecution, constitutional experts and lawmakers explained AFP.

Thousands of people took to the streets for a third consecutive night on Thursday in the capital Asuncion and other cities to demand the return of their money.

“Santiago Pena has hurt so many Paraguayans, so many families, business owners and small business people, including my own son, who had savings in Ueno Bank,” Cynthia Farina told AFP at a protest in Asuncion that police dispersed with tear gas and water cannons.

The Central Bank has vowed to protect the bank’s depositors and assured that the bank’s woes do not “represent the broader state of the Paraguayan financial system.”

The scandal has claimed the heads of Central Bank President Carlos Carvallo and Interior Minister Enrique Riera.

Eight Ueno executives have been arrested.

The crisis was felt in nearby Argentina, where some 1,000 employees of technology company ITTI, part of Grupo Vasquez, were suspended for 30 days without pay.

Football was also affected.

Ueno Bank sponsors several first division teams as well as the national team.

“We were also victims of this situation,” members of the national team said in a statement on X.