Police Detain Paul Pogba’s Brother Over Extortion And Threat Allegations

Following statements made by Paul Pogba that he is a target of extortion attempts and threats, his brother, Mathias Pogba, has been detained and questioned by the police over the allegations.

A source told Daily Mail on Wednesday, September 14,  that the Juventus of Italy star’s brother made himself present in the “early afternoon to investigators and was placed in police custody.’’ Authorities are expected to investigate allegations of blackmail by an armed gang, kidnapping, and membership in a criminal conspiracy.

Mathias Pogba is in detention alongside three other persons. Out of the four persons in detention, one was put in custody on Tuesday, September 13, while the other three were detained on Wednesday, September 14. Temporary detention in France lasts for 24 hours.

It will be recalled that the former Manchester United star claimed that his brother and some “childhood friends,’’ formed part of a group that targeted him in Juve’s training centre in Turin.

Reports from Franceinfo radio alleged that the group was armed with M16 assault rifles and demanded that the World Cup winner pay them £11million (€13m) for “protection services,’’ dating back to 13 years which is inclusive of the time Pogba featured for Manchester United.

Pogba also claimed that he had been threatened for four months by the gang. The group is alleged to have taken the midfielder to the Paris suburb of Lagny-sur-Marne where he was raised, and accused him of abandoning them since he became a star.

Reports further alleged that the 29-year-old paid £85,000 (€100,000) to the gang as part of efforts to “save time’’ following threats from masked men  in a Paris apartment while he was on international duty, before getting their demand for multi-million dollars.

The saga started in August after Mathias posted a video on social media and vowed to make “great revelations’’ about his younger brother, Paul Pogba.

Mathias said: “The French, English, Italian and Spanish public, as well as my brother’s fans — and even more so the French team and Juventus, my brother’s teammates and his sponsors — deserve to know certain things. In order to make an informed decision if he deserves the admiration, respect and love of the public.Whether he deserves his place in the French team and the honour of playing in the World Cup. If he deserves to be a starter at Juventus. If he is a trustworthy person, that any player would want to have at his side.’’

 Following the post, Pogba released a statement signed by his lawyers, mother (Yeo Moriba) and agent, Rafaela, noting that his elder brother’s video posts were “unfortunately no surprise.’’

 The statement said: “They (the videos) are in addition to threats and extortion attempts by an organised gang against Paul Pogba. The competent bodies in Italy and France were informed a month ago and there will be no further comments in relation to the ongoing investigation.’’

32-year-old Mathias Pogba is also a football player and has featured for British clubs like Crawley Town, Wrexham, Crewe Alexandra, and Partick Thistle.

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