Paraguay Could Launch Investigation Against Sanctioned Vice President - Prosecutor’s Office

BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) - Paraguay’s prosecutor’s office says it will assess the need to open an investigation against Vice President Hugo Velazquez, whom the United States has accused of corruption.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Friday that the US was imposing visa restrictions on Velazquez, his associate Juan Carlos "Charly" Duarte Martinez, and immediate family members, for their alleged involvement in corruption, including bribery of a public official and interference in public processes.

"A technical and legal analysis is required for the presence of facts of criminal significance to open an investigation," Paraguay’s prosecutor’s office said on Friday.

According to Blinken, Duarte allegedly offered a bribe to a Paraguayan public official in order to obstruct an investigation that threatened the Paraguayan vice president and his financial interests.

Earlier this year, Paraguayan prosecutors launched an investigation against former President Horacio Cartes, suspected of corruption and money-laundering. Cartes was listed in the so-called Pandora Papers - leaked documents published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists within the investigation into offshore schemes of a number of world's high-ranking leaders.