In the blackmail scandal involving soccer world champion Paul Pogba, the French police have taken his older brother and four other suspects into custody. 32-year-old Mathias Pogba surrendered on Wednesday and was taken into custody, according to investigators. The other four suspects are friends or acquaintances of the Pogba brothers.
In mid-July, 29-year-old Paul Pogba filed a lawsuit with the Italian public prosecutor’s office in Turin for extortion. The Juventus player complained about several attempts at blackmail between March and July, which he said were worth several million euros. The case then became public in late August, when Mathias Pogba released a video announcing “explosive” revelations about his younger brother Paul.
13 million euros for “favors”
However, the nature of the announced revelations remained open. Paul Pogba responded the following day with a statement from his lawyers. His brother’s statements were “no surprise,” it said. “They stand in line with previous threats and extortion attempts.”
According to French broadcaster France Info, Paul Pogba told police that his brother and previous friends had been trying to blackmail him for some time. They would have asked for 13 million euros in return for unspecified “favours”. There had been several attempts at intimidation, once with two masked and armed men.
At the beginning of September, the Paris public prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into the case. Specifically, it is about the suspicion of armed extortion, extortion in an organized gang and involvement in a criminal organization. Mathias Pogba’s lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou, said on Wednesday his client had turned himself in to the police for a statement. He “emphatically” rejects the allegation of involvement in his brother’s blackmail.
