Mathias Pogba, the older brother of the France and Juventus footballer Paul Pogba, is reportedly being detained and questioned by police on suspicion of taking part in the scheme to blackmail the Juventus player.
“Mathias Pogba presented himself to the investigators in the early afternoon and was taken into custody,” a source close to the investigation said on Wednesday. Three other people are also in custody, added a legal source who asked not to be named.
The formal probe follows preliminary investigations and will look into allegations of blackmail by an armed gang, kidnapping and membership of a criminal conspiracy.
Paul Pogba has told the Paris prosecution office he had been the target of extortion by childhood friends since March.
Pogba is said to have been escorted at gunpoint to a flat in the eastern Paris suburb of Roissy-en-Brie, handing over €100,000 (£85,000) to the gunmen at that time.
The midfielder claimed that when he initially started playing professionally at the age of 16, he was required to pay ‘protection money’ of €1 million (£860,000) a year, an amount that now totals €13 million (£11.2 million).
It’s said that Pogba tried to withdraw the entire sum at first, but his bank denied him permission. Instead, the 29-year-old paid £85,000 to the gang but filed a criminal complaint after the group continued to press for more money.
Mathias Pogba denied the allegations in statements posted on social media. His lawyer reiterated on Friday that he denies any involvement in the alleged extortion.
That denial in a statement issued by his lawyer, Richard Arbib, came after Mathias Pogba published a bizarre video online on 27 August – in French, Italian, English and Spanish – promising “great revelations” about his younger brother.
“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 lawyer’s statement.
“It is clear that the difficulties the Pogba family are experiencing are the result of outside threats which the justice authorities, who are already involved, will evaluate. Mathias Pogba, who wishes above all to calm the situation with his brother, will from now on only speak with the investigating magistrates, should it be necessary.”
Two investigating magistrates have been appointed to lead the probe, it was announced last week. The investigation is handled jointly by the French police’s anti-gang and central crime units.
On the field, Paul Pogba’s hopes of playing for France at the Qatar World Cup later this year hang in the balance after a knee injury.
The midfielder underwent surgery that was described as “successful” earlier this month.
