Brazil football hero Ronaldinho held on fake passport rap
Star arrested after U-turn by Paraguay prosecutors
Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho has been arrested in Paraguay after a U-turn by prosecutors over his use of an alleged fake passport.
After an eight-hour grilling, the former Barcelona and AC Milan star had been told he would not face trial for entering the country with a falsified Paraguayan passport showing he was a naturalised citizen.
But his hopes of returning home a free man were frustrated when prosecution chiefs reversed an earlier decision to offer him a plea bargain deal and police arrested him and his brother Roberto Assis at the Sheraton Hotel in the capital Asuncion.
They spent the night in a cell and faced a second quiz yesterday.
In a new development to the case, a prosecutor specialising in financial crimes was brought into the probe, sparking local speculation the investigation would now be widened to look into possible money laundering.
A Brazilian businessman named as Wilmondes Sousa Lira, who has been accused of providing Ronaldinho and his brother with the passports they used to get into Paraguay, was arrested and has been remanded.
Two Paraguayan women – thought to be the legitimate owners of the passports modified to show the star and his brother as the holders – were also held. Ronaldinho faces an extended period on remand in jail if the courts decide he is a flight risk and refuse him bail. Paraguay’s General Attorney’s office said: “Ronaldinho has been placed under formal investigation.”
The star had planned to promote a free mobile health clinic service for children but the event had to be cancelled. He was also due to launch his book Genius of Life. Ronaldinho and his brother have repor tedly told prosecutors they were invited to Paraguay by a casino owner. Their lawyer Adolfo Marin claimed the star had been given his passport as a “gift” and assumed it was an “honorarytype” document.