Wednesday, September 11, 2024 - French judges on Tuesday, September 10, ordered six men to stand trial in a kidnap and extortion case involving French footballer Paul Pogba, with the star’s brother Mathias being one of the accused.
The trial follows a two-year investigation into the alleged
extortion and kidnapping of the former Manchester United midfielder in a
high-profile case that emerged in 2022.
Five people close to the World Cup winner are suspected of
having “meticulously prepared” a meeting in the Paris suburbs on March 19,
2022, which ended with Pogba being kidnapped and held by two unidentified men
who demanded he give them 13 million euros ($14 million), according to Paris
prosecutors.
Pogba’s brother Mathias — a former striker himself — was not
present for that meeting, but is suspected of having put pressure on his
younger brother afterwards “with the same determination to get (Paul Pogba) to
hand over the money”, according to prosecutors.
All have denied their guilt in the affair, claiming they
were “victims” of armed robbers and that they were assaulted after Paul Pogba
refused to pay.
But prosecutors called for the three childhood friends and
two former acquaintances from the town where Pogba grew up in eastern Paris who
were present on the night to be tried for extortion, illegal restraint and
criminal conspiracy.
Pogba filed a complaint with Italian prosecutors saying he
was the target of a multi-million-euro blackmail plot.
The 31-year-old told investigators that his blackmailers
threatened to discredit him by claiming he asked a “marabout”, or witch doctor,
to cast a spell on fellow France star Kylian Mbappe, which Pogba denies.
French prosecutors launched an investigation in September
2022 which was handled jointly by the French police’s anti-gang and central
crime units.
During the investigation, Paul Pogba stated that he had
“voluntarily” helped members of the group, but then refused to hand seven
million euros over to three of them in September 2021. He subsequently kept his
distance from the group, he said.
In late September 2022, his brother Mathias posted a series
of videos on social media incriminating Pogba and accusing him of having
“abandoned” his family.
The videos came a month after Mathias Pogba had put another
video online in French, Italian, English and Spanish promising “great
revelations” about his brother.
During the investigation,
Mathias said he had been afraid for his safety and that of his family, saying
he had been manipulated by the other suspects, and that he hoped he would soon
be reconciled with his younger brother.
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