Ronaldinho awaits release on August 24th
A judicial source told AFP on Monday that former Brazil soccer star Ronaldinho could be released on August 24, five months after he was arrested in Paraguay for using a false passport.
Ronaldinho (40 years) and his brother Roberto were arrested on the sixth of March in Asuncion, after they were accused of entering Paraguay with false passports.
The duo spent nearly a month behind bars, before moving on April 7 to the finally rehabilitated Palmaruga Hotel in 2019, located in a building built at the beginning of the twentieth century in the Paraguayan capital of Asunción, after paying a $ 1.6 million bail.
Judge Gustavo Amarella set August 24 as the date for hearing the case against the brothers.
Prosecutors suggested to the judge that Ronaldinho pay a fine of $ 90,000 to "fix social damages" but that he would return to his country where he would have to appear before a judge every three months for a year.
Ronaldinho denied being aware that the passports were forged.
His brother, who was allegedly aware of the fraud, would be required to pay a fine of $ 110,000 and appear before a judge every three months for a period of two years.
The prosecutor also requested a two-year suspended prison sentence for Roberto, who works as a business manager for his brother.
Ronaldinho and his brother arrived in Asuncion on the fourth of March from Brazil and brought their passports to the immigration police, who did not immediately notice any problem with the documents.
Hours later, when the fraud was noticed, the police raided the hotel where the 2005 Golden Ball winner was staying, promoting a book and attending conferences sponsored by charities interested in disadvantaged children, and found the forged passports.
The investigation has since expanded to include a possible money laundering case.
Ronaldinho is one of the most prominent players in the history of football, and he has won almost all the titles available to him from the World Cup, the Copa America, the Confederations Cup, the European Champions League, the Spanish and Italian League, and the Golden Ball, as well as three of the largest European clubs, Barcelona and Milan. And Paris Saint-Germain, French.