Former Brazilian football star Ronaldinho, who was detained in Paraguay for using fake passports to enter the country, has been released from prison after paying a USD 1.6 million bail bond. Ronaldinho was arrested along with his brother Roberto at their hotel earlier in March.
The World-Cup winning footballer, who spent 32 days in prison, will stay under house arrest at the Hotel Palma Roga in Asuncion. Reports said Ronaldinho’s brother will also remain with the footballer after a sum of USD 800,000 was paid for him.
Ronaldinho and his brother Roberto’s passports were taken away by Brazilian authorities over failure of payment of a fine of USD 2.5 million in a case involving environmental damage at Lake Guaiba in Porto Alegre. The brothers were convicted in 2018, slapped with a fine, for illegally building a fishing trap in the fragile preservation area. Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice ordered Ronaldinho from leaving the country after he failed to pay the fine.
Authorities at the Asuncion airport had detected their fake passports and proceeded to detain the duo at their hotel.
Ronaldinho’s lawyer, however, denied that his client had used fake documents to enter Paraguay, with reports saying that the duo was acting in “good faith” in receiving the falsified Paraguayan documents.
Ronaldinho had been invited to Asuncion by casino owner Nelson Belotti and a foundation for needy children for a few public events, and also to promote his new book.
