A businesswoman surrenders herself to the police in the Ronaldinho passport forgery case

A businesswoman accused of providing former Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho with a fake passport that led to his arrest in Paraguay in 2020 has surrendered herself to the authorities, Paraguayan police announced.
The 2005 Ballon d’Or winner was imprisoned for about a month, then placed under house arrest for nearly five months in Asuncion, after he entered Paraguay with a false passport alongside his brother Roberto in March 2020.
It is suspected that Dalia Lopes (55 years old), who has been wanted since that period, provided the documents and organized this trip, which was aimed at promoting a book.
Upon his arrival in the country, the former player was arrested for presenting a forged Paraguayan passport and identity card.
The Brazilian judiciary withdrew his Brazilian passport in 2018 after he was convicted and paid a fine of $2.5 million for illegally building a dock in a protected area.
Dalia Lopes said that she turned herself in because she saw that her physical safety was being threatened.
During a search at her luxury residence in Asuncion, police confiscated more than $200,000.
Lopes must appear on charges of forging documents and forming a criminal gang.
About 20 people were arrested at the time in connection with this case, most of them employees of the Paraguayan immigration services and members of the police.
To avoid a public trial, Ronaldinho paid $90,000, while his brother paid $110,000, allowing them to leave Paraguay about six months after their arrest.
Before that, the two brothers were released from prison and placed under house arrest in a luxury hotel in the Paraguayan capital, in exchange for bail amounting to $1.6 million.