Police imprison Paul Pogba’s brother, Mathias, over an £11m blackmail case

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By Martin Graham | 18th Sep 2022

Mathias Pogba is one of five suspects arrested over attempts to extort money from Paul Pogba. Mathais, through his lawyer, has claimed innocence in the blackmail and extortion case.

It seems the bond that holds brothers together has broken. At least this much seems true in the Pogba family. They have been in turmoil, with accusations and counter-accusations between both sides.

In this age, at every disagreement between couples, relations and friends, the best bet is to seek the media to air their grievances. It is the situation involving Paul Pogba and his brother Mathias, as both engaged in the exchange of words aimed at sullying their images.

Things have gotten messy, and the police are now involved in the case. Following accusations by Paul Pogba, Mathais was arrested by the police in a blackmail and extortion case.

Mathias has questions to answer

The messy crisis between Paul Pogba and his elder brother Mathais has gotten ugly, with the former facing charges of blackmail and extortion against person of Paul.

In a case that has seen police arrest five people involved in the extortion of Paul Pogba, Mathias Pogba is one of those accused of extortion with a gang. He stands accused of participating in a criminal association to prepare for a crime.

Mathias will be held in jail as he waits for a decision from the judge regarding his bail.

The counsel to Mathias Pogba is unhappy with the situation. The lawyer Yassine Bouzrou spoke with BFMTV on Saturday night and said they would challenge the decision to remand his client. The lawyer claims that his client has not committed any offence and sees no reason why he should be in jail.

AFP, via a source close to the investigation, reports that all the other accused persons are relatives of Paul Pogba and his brother. They are between 27 and 36. The four indicted suspects are all in pre-trial detention with Mathais.

The incident and accusations

Mathias Pogba was detained in police custody in Paris on Wednesday. The detention is for his role in a group that tried to extort money from his younger brother Paul.

According to the accusations by Paul Pogba, the gang demanded €13 million (£11.2m) from him in ‘protection money. The money comes to €1m (£860,000) a year from the age of 16 when he first turned professional.

Paul claims to have given them over €100,000 (£85,000). He said the gang escorted him at gunpoint to a flat in Roissy-en-Brie, in the eastern suburb of Paris, in March.

The World Cup winner, who now plays for Juventus following his free transfer from Manchester United, decided to head for the police after the gang insisted on more money from him.

Mathias Pogba, via a video released at the end of August, accused Paul of telling made-up stories to the Italian authorities.

In the video, Mathais insists that Paul was trying to manipulate the media and the authorities. He said that being famous would make the authorities listen more attentively. It is what Paul is trying to capitalize on, but it doesn’t put him above the law.