Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Ronaldinho Released from House Arrest in Paraguay after 5 Months


Tue 25 Aug 2020 | 08:30 PM
shawar ibrahim

Ronaldinho was released from house arrest on Monday after spending five months detained in Paraguay for entering the country with a fake passport.

Paraguayan judge Gustavo Amarilla handed down a suspended sentence of two years in prison for Ronaldinho and his brother Roberto de Assis Moreira, and granted their release. The brothers will also have to pay a fine of $200,000.

The brothers were arrested last March for possession and use of fake Paraguayan passports with which they entered the country to conduct business activities.

Ronaldinho was earlier released from a high-security jail in Paraguay but ordered to serve house arrest at a luxury hotel while he was under trial.

The former Barcelona Magician will be able to return to Brazil immediately. Defence attorneys Tarek Tuma and Alcides Cceres said their clients will establish residence in Rio de Janeiro.

Ronaldinho, a world champion with Brazil in 2002 and a former star of Barcelona, Milan and Paris Saint-Germain, among other clubs, turned 40 in Paraguay.

Ronaldinho Under Trial

He came to the country invited by a local foundation, supposedly to present his autobiography, support a school for poor children and inaugurate a casino.

Prosecutor Marcelo Pecci said Ronaldinho and his brother received a shortened legal process because they admitted having had official Paraguayan legal documents but of false content and because they litigated in good faith.

Ronaldinho told local authorities the document was a gift from a Brazilian businessman, who was also jailed.

He had his Brazilian passport seized at home due to an investigation into alleged environmental crimes, but the document was returned to him in September. One month later he played in a friendly in Israel.

He could have spent up to five years in jail.