RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Former Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho Gaúcho and his brother and entrepreneur, Roberto de Assis Moreira, spent their second night in a special cell of the National Police Specialized Squad in Asunción, Paraguay. Paraguay’s Prosecutor’s Office is calling for further investigations into whether the former player has committed other crimes such as money laundering.
Ronaldinho and Assis are being held in custody at the request of the Paraguayan Prosecutor’s Office, who feared they would flee the country before authorities could determine why the two entered Paraguay using Paraguayan documents with forged data. Pre-trial detention can last up to six months if not reversed.
The former athlete and his brother landed in Paraguay last Wednesday morning, March 4th. Although Brazilian citizens can enter the neighboring country only by providing their Brazilian identity document, Ronaldinho and Assis handed immigration agents a Paraguayan passport with their personal data, as if they were naturalized Paraguayan citizens.
Although surprised, the agents authorized the pair’s entry. Hours later, the two were targeted in an operation that led prosecutors and police officers to search the resort rooms where Ronaldinho and Assis were staying and seize the Paraguayan passports and ID cards they were carrying.
According to Paraguayan prosecutor Federico Delfino, Ronaldinho and Assis said they had travelled at the invitation of the owner of Il Palazzo Casino, the Brazilian Nelson Belotti, and that in the country they were already being sought by representatives of an aid foundation, the Angelical Fraternity, to take part in charity events. Still according to the promoter, the documents are authentic, but were filled with false information.
On Thursday, March 5th, Paraguayan prosecutors of the Specialized Unit for Organized Crime proposed that the former soccer player and his manager be released for cooperating with the investigations. Based on this, Ronaldinho and Assis gave new depositions on Friday afternoon, March 6th, ready to leave the country. But after approximately six hours of hearing, Judge Mirko Valinotti rejected the Prosecutor’s Office’s (MP) claim, setting a deadline of ten days for the prosecutors in charge of the case to reassess the situation.
The MP then reversed its position. A new prosecutor, Osmar Legal, from the Economic Crimes Unit, was assigned to the case, suggesting that local authorities also investigate the prospect of money laundering. Also on Friday, the MP recommended that Ronaldinho and Assis be arrested as a precautionary measure.
Detained, the two Brazilians were led to the National Police headquarters, where they stayed overnight from Friday to Saturday, when they stood before the Judge of Guarantees, Clara Ruiz Díaz, who upheld the pre-trial detention after considering the facts investigated to be serious. According to the MP, Ronaldinho and Assis’ defense still tried to convert the imprisonment into house arrest, but the request was denied. “The attorneys requested house arrest, but [Ronaldinho and his brother] do not have a fixed address [in Paraguay],” the prosecutor said.
In addition to Ronaldinho and Assis, Brazilian entrepreneur Wilmondes Sousa Lira, who was named the former player’s legal representative in Paraguay, and Paraguayan María Isabel Gayoso and Esperanza Apolonia Caballero are also under arrest for alleged involvement in the case. The MP also ordered the arrest of entrepreneur Dalia López Troche.
According to the Paraguayan MP, Ronaldinho and his brother claim that after travelling at Belotti’s invitation, they received Dalia’s invitation to attend charity events. The former player and his brother also claim to have received the forged documents from entrepreneur Wilmondes Sousa Lira – who, in turn, holds Dalia responsible.
María Isabel and Esperanza Apolonia are investigated because, according to the National Police, the documents found with the Brazilians were issued to them, at their request, in January this year.