Ronaldinho fake passport case – Woman supplying fake passports to Brazilian legend jailed in Paraguay

A Paraguayan woman accused of giving Ronaldinho a forged passport, for which the former Brazil star spent five months in custody, was jailed in her South American country on Monday.

Dalia Lopez, 55, was on the run for six years before she was captured in the capital Asuncion on April 2.

She has been in police custody since then.

On Monday, a judge declared her a flight risk and ordered her remanded in a women’s prison in the town of Emboscada, about 35 kilometers from Asuncion.

Lopez is accused of criminal association for allegedly providing Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, aka Ronaldinho, and his brother and agent Roberto de Assis Moreira with forged documents. It’s not clear why they wanted them.

Lopez had arranged for Ronaldinho to visit Paraguay in March 2020 for a charity event supporting underprivileged children.

Two days after arriving in Paraguay, the former World Cup winner and his brother were arrested for traveling with fake Paraguayan passports and fake identity cards.

They spent nearly a month in custody and another four months under house arrest in a hotel in Asuncion on $1.6 million bail.

It is still unclear why they agreed to travel with fake passports, as Brazilians can enter Paraguay without a passport and can only use their national ID.

So far, 18 people have been charged in the case.

Published on April 14, 2026