Cars seized in Ronaldinho Institute case

SAO PAULO (AP):

Prosecutors have seized three luxury cars and a painting in connection with an environmental case against the Ronaldinho Institute in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre.

The prosecutor's office of Rio Grande do Sul state said in a statement yesterday that the assets belonged to former Brazil and Barcelona forward Ronaldinho's brother-agent Roberto de Assis.

De Assis and the now-defunct Ronaldinho Institute have been targeted over an outstanding debt. Two BMWs and a Mercedes-Benz vehicle were seized.

De Assis and the institute are alleged to have removed vegetation and drained the land in 2007 without an environmental licence.

Ronaldinho's brother-agent has not responded to a request for comment from The Associated Press.