(Paris) Mathias Pogba says he is “completely foreign” to the extortions denounced by his brother, the footballer Paul Pogba, who have been the subject for a week of a judicial investigation entrusted to two investigating judges in Paris, announced in a informed his lawyer.
Posted at 6:48 a.m.
“Given the evolution of the case and its media impact, Mathias Pogba wishes to strongly indicate that he is totally foreign to any maneuver of extortion with regard to his brother, Paul Pogba”, writes Me Richard Arbib.
“It is clear that the difficulties experienced by the Pogba family are the result of external threats which the justice system, now seized, will take the measure of”, he adds.
“Mathias Pogba, who aspires more than anything to calm the situation with his brother, will now reserve his word for the investigating judges responsible for this file, if necessary”, continues Mr.e Arbib.
In a complaint filed on July 16 with the Turin public prosecutor’s office, Paul Pogba denounces extortion attempts between March and July 2022 amounting to several million euros.
This complaint led to the opening of a preliminary investigation by the Paris prosecutor’s office on August 3, then a judicial investigation on September 2 for, in particular, extortion with a weapon, kidnapping or kidnapping in an organized gang and participation in a criminal association.
The case came to light with the publication on August 27 of an enigmatic video of Mathias Pogba, himself a professional footballer, who promised “revelations” about Paul.
The star of the French football team said during his first audition that he was trapped by childhood friends and two hooded men, armed with assault rifles, accusing him of not having helped them financially, according to France Info.
A sum of 13 million euros ($17 million) was claimed from him and he claims to have paid 100,000 euros ($131,000).
He then claimed to have recognized his older brother Mathias among the suspects.
During another hearing, he felt with investigators that his brother Mathias was “under pressure” from people wanting to extract money from him.
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 about his family circle to cast a spell” on the PSG striker, which the Juve player denies.