Worrying news from the world of football: Ronaldinho is currently unable to provide testimony as part of the investigation regarding the crypto fraud and is facing the prospect of possible arrest in Brazil.
The focus of the investigation is centered on the company owned by Ronaldinho, called “18kRonaldinho,” which had secured daily gains of more than 2% for its clients through investments in the blockchain field.
Below are all the details.
Summary
News in the world of football: Ronaldinho’s problems in Brazil over alleged connection to a crypto fraud
As anticipated above, celebrated Brazilian soccer icon Ronaldinho Gaúcho may be facing the possibility of arrest by authorities in connection with his request to testify as part of an investigation regarding an alleged crypto fraud taking place in Brazil.
According to local media reports, Ronaldinho failed to appear before the country’s assembly to answer questions regarding an alleged pyramid scheme involving one of his companies.
The former star of high-caliber teams such as Paris Saint-Germain, FC Barcelona, and AC Milan was therefore unable to testify during a parliamentary hearing on 24 August, justifying his absence by adverse weather conditions and ignoring a subpoena for the second time.
According to statements by Congressman Aureo Ribeiro, Ronaldinho will be given an additional opportunity to provide testimony on 31 August.
Should Ronaldinho fail to appear, authorities would have the power to compel him to appear before the commission.
It is worth recalling that Brazilian law stipulates that witnesses subpoenaed to appear before Congress have an obligation to do so.
Thus, those who ignore a subpoena may be subject to fines and physically forced by law enforcement to appear before the assembly.
Ronaldinho and the ’18kRonaldinho’ Investigation: crypto, NFT, and scam charges
Moreover, it is worth noting that the investigation revolves around Ronaldinho’s company, “18kRonaldinho.” That company allegedly promised its clients daily gains in excess of 2% through investments in cryptocurrencies.
A more than $61 million lawsuit was filed against the company because it did not return these profits as promised. This dispute is now part of a larger investigation into cryptocurrency fraud within the country.
Ronaldinho’s legal team claims that he was simply an “ambassador” for the company, and thus another victim of the alleged scam.
According to their version, Ronaldinho’s image and name were illegally exploited to deceive possible customers without the necessary consent.
It is worth recalling that Ronaldinho’s cryptographic empire also includes a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), launched in collaboration with INFLUXO in 2021.
In 2020, Ronaldinho and his brother Roberto de Assis were arrested in Paraguay for using fake passports to enter the country, spending more than 170 days behind bars. Assis is also involved in the current investigation related to cryptographic fraud.
Ronaldinho: fake passports and other crypto scams
With regard to what has been mentioned above about Ronaldinho’s previous arrests, we see that back in the day it was reported that the Paraguayan national police had entered the hotel suite at the Paraguay Golf Club, where the former champion was staying, and discovered two forged Paraguayan passports in the names of him and his brother, Roberto de Assis Moreira.
Ronaldinho had traveled to the country to participate in a community initiative sponsored by a foundation that provides medical assistance to disadvantaged youth.
After giving his testimony, the Paraguayan prosecutor issued an arrest warrant for the former Barcelona star and his brother, who were charged with entering the country with false passports, according to Mexican news outlet Milenio 2020.
We can see that this episode adds a new layer of controversy to the story of Ronaldinho Gaúcho. In fact, in Brazil, the former athlete has been under investigation by authorities because of his involvement with two companies accused of perpetrating Bitcoin-related scams.
Both of these companies have been banned by the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission. The two companies involved are LBLV and Ronaldinho 18k.
Ronaldinho defended himself by stating that he left the second company as soon as he became aware of the cryptocurrency investment offer.
In addition, the sports celebrity was also involved in two cryptocurrency-related initial coin offering (ICO) projects: Ronaldinho Soccer Coin and Champion Coin.
However, both of these projects suffered failures and were discontinued.
