Ronaldinho not to face prosecution for fake passports

Asuncion (Paraguay), March 6

Former Brazil football star Ronaldinho and his brother were “deceived” and will not face prosecution for travelling to Paraguay on false documents, officials said here today.

Prosecutor Federico Delfino said he had recommended not pursuing Ronaldinho and his brother Roberto de Assis Moreira. “But on the condition of admitting committing the crime of which they are accused, in this case, the use of false documents,” he said.

Ronaldinho’s lawyer had earlier denied that he and his brother had used fake passports to enter Paraguay. “We have proceeded to charge several people,” Delfino said.

The brothers were acting in “good faith” in receiving the falsified Paraguayan documents, he said. “The information that they provided is very useful in disrupting a criminal organization dedicated to the production of false documents,” he said.

Brazilian authorities withdrew Ronaldinho’s passport in November 2018 after he failed to pay a $2.5 million fine for environmental damage incurred during the building of a property. — AFP