Jorge Brítez granted house arrest as Paraguay probes IPS scandal

Former Instituto de Previsión Social (IPS) president Jorge Brítez, aged over 70, was granted freedom ambulatoria (house arrest) by Judge Rodrigo Estigarribia after presenting himself to the court. He posted a real bail of 1,000 million guaraníes using property in his name.

Prosecutor Julio Ortiz has charged Brítez, ex‑president Vicente Bataglia and eight other former IPS officials with alleged misappropriation of roughly 61 000 million guaraníes. The alleged damage stems from payments for modular operating‑room projects and equipment that were never installed, with contract modifications made despite the works being impossible to execute.

Rosa Colmán, a lawyer from the IPS legal department, was also granted freedom ambulatoria. Meanwhile, Bataglia left Paraguay on 23 July 2026, reportedly heading to Italy, before a detention order was issued. The investigation continues to examine the series of contract addenda and disbursements made during the administrations of Bataglia and Brítez.