Paraguayan President Santiago Peña unexpectedly resigned Thursday after a scandal at a bank with close ties to his administration left millions of citizens without any savings.

In a video statement posted online, Peña, a conservative economist, said he was stepping down in the interest of stability and described the decision as “one of the hardest moments of my life," according to the New York Times.

“I want to apologize to the people if I ever failed you,” he said in the video. “It was never my intention to betray the trust you placed in me." 

The announcement comes as the country's legislature was expected to vote on whether to impeach the president. Shortly after Peña's resignation, the lawmakers decided to move forward with the impeachment.

The move comes after the bank Ueno was taken over by Paraguay’s Central Bank early Tuesday after regulators found it was no longer solvent and half of the country's six million citizens soon discovered they could no longer withdraw cash, make digital payments or use their bank cards to buy groceries.

Peña urged citizens in a separate post to remain calm as the impeachment proceedings and investigations continue, and vowed to cooperate with federal officials. 

He also urged the banks to resolve its issues, so citizens can access their savings and accounts, insisting that the impeachment and investigation into the scandal cannot delay the release of the funds.

"Clarifying the facts and resolving the payments are obligations that must move forward at the same time," he insisted.

The country's attorney general's office additionally said Thursday that it was evaluating a formal criminal complaint against the Peña that was filed by lawmakers.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.