Photo: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images
Former Brazilian soccer player Ronaldinho Gaucho argued this Thursday before a congressional commission investigating fraud with financial pyramids that his name was misused by two partners accused of fraud and with whom he only had a contract to promote a watch brand.
The former striker for clubs like PSG, Barcelona and AC Milan, who refused to attend on the two previous occasions in which he was summoned to testify by the parliamentary commission and was even threatened with being taken by force by the police, he denied all the accusations against him in more than two hours of questioning before the legislators.
The commission of the Chamber of Deputies that investigates fraud with financial pyramids decided to summon the ex-soccer player for questioning because his name and image were used by the owners of the company “18K Ronaldinho” to capture resources from investors who promised huge interests with the purchase of cryptocurrencies and who ended up scamming.
The former soccer player told legislators that he signed a contract with the owners of the company “18K Ronaldinho” exclusively to promote a watch brand.
He added that the contract was negotiated by his brother and representative, Roberto de Assis Moreira, and that he was only twice with one of the partners of that company when he was filming a commercial to promote the watches.
The presidency of a parliamentary commission that investigates suspicious operations with cryptocurrencies in Brazil orders that the Police take the former player Ronaldinho Gaúcho to testify, after failing to appear on two occasions. https://t.co/udlzZ1gigL
– EFE News (@EFEnoticias) August 24, 2023
Ronaldinho speaks in court
“They used my name without authorization to create another company. I was even heard by the Prosecutor’s Office and by the Police as a witness for fraud investigations. I was also a victim. I never participated in that company and I never authorized the use of my name or my image, ”he said.
When questioned by the instructor of the parliamentary commission, representative Ricardo Silva, Regarding the measures he took when he found out that his name had been used to promote the sale of cryptocurrencies, Ronaldinho admitted that he did not report it to the Police or file any lawsuit against his partners.
The former soccer player clarified that, just as they manage their businesses and their finances, his brother and his lawyers were the ones in charge of responding to the complaints.
Despite his refusals, Ronaldinho Gaúcho appears as a defendant in a process opened by hundreds of investors who request compensation of 300 million reais (about 61.5 million dollars) for the losses they suffered for trusting a financial product promoted with the image of the former soccer player.
Despite his alleged intention to clarify the accusations against him, the former Barcelona attacker He refused to answer most of the questions from the legislators, protected by a sentence in which the Justice authorized him not to answer questions that could incriminate him.
In addition to having been threatened with being taken to Congress by force, the former soccer player He went to the interrogation this Thursday after the Police, in response to an order from Parliament, appeared at his residence to withhold his passport.
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