Pogba’s brothers arrested in extortion case
French authorities have detained the elder brother of Paul Pogba, Mathias, and three others in an investigation into the extortion alleged by the France national team and Juventus football star, sources close to the case said on Wednesday.
Mathias Pogba presented himself “early afternoon to investigators and was placed in police custody,” said one of the legal sources who asked not to be named.
Among the four suspects detained in total in the probe, one was taken into custody on Tuesday and three on Wednesday, a judicial source added.
Mathias Pogba has earlier denied any involvement in extortion reported by his World Cup-winning footballer brother Paul.
Mathias’s denial in a statement issued by his lawyer, Richard Arbib, comes after he published a bizarre video online on August 27 — in four languages (French, Italian, English and Spanish) — promising “great revelations” about the Juventus star.
Paul Pogba says he is the victim of a multi-million euro blackmail plot by gangsters involving his brother.
According to two sources close to the Pogba family contacted by AFP, large sums of money are being demanded from Paul Pogba if he wants to avoid the dissemination of allegedly compromising videos.
Mathias, though, is adamant he is an innocent party.
“Taking into account how the affair has evolved and the huge media attention surrounding it, Mathias Pogba strongly insists he knows nothing about any extortion attempt against his brother, Paul Pogba,” read the statement.