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Mathias Pogba, the older brother of footballer Paul Pogba, and three other people have been taken into police custody in the investigation into extortion denounced by the Juventus Turin player, we learned on Wednesday from judicial and close sources. folder.
After the opening in early September of a judicial investigation against X for “extortion with a weapon in an organized gang” and “kidnapping and kidnapping”, in particular following a complaint from the midfielder of the Blues Paul Pogba, his older brother Mathias Pogba and three other people have been taken into police custody in the investigation into extortion denounced by the Juventus Turin player, according to judicial sources familiar with the matter.
Mathias Pogba presented himself “at the beginning of the afternoon (Wednesday, September 14) to the investigation service and was placed in police custody”, the source told AFP. Of the four suspects heard, one was taken into custody on Tuesday and three on Wednesday, the judicial source said, confirming information from Le Monde.
>> To read also: From Valbuena to Pogba, back on extortion cases in football
Following a complaint filed by Paul Pogba on July 16 with the Turin public prosecutor’s office, a preliminary investigation had been opened by the Paris public prosecutor’s office on August 3 “of the heads of extortion in an organized gang and attempted extortion in a gang organization and participation in a criminal association with a view to committing a crime”.
Extortion attempts
The player, at the heart of an incredible affair which is shaking the world of French football two and a half months before the World Cup in Qatar, has denounced extortion attempts amounting to millions of euros.
The investigation was entrusted to the Central Office for the Fight against Organized Crime (OCLCO) of the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ).
In this case, the name of French football star Kylian Mbappé also appears, reluctantly: Paul Pogba explained to investigators that “his blackmailers wanted to discredit him by broadcasting messages in which he allegedly asked a marabout to his family to cast a spell” on the PSG striker, which the Juve player denies.
According to information from FranceInfo confirmed to AFP by a source familiar with the matter, Paul Pogba told investigators that he had been intimidated several times in Manchester, his ex-club, and up to the Juventus training center, where he came back this summer. Among the suspects, he claims to have recognized his older brother Mathias, himself a professional footballer.
>> To read also: The Pogba, from the passion for football to the accusations of extortion
With AFP