An elder brother of Paul Pogba has been taken into police custody in connection with organised armed extortion against the Juventus midfielder, sources have told ESPN.
“Mathias Pogba presented himself to the investigators in the early afternoon and was taken into custody,” the source said.
The source added that three other people are also in custody. Temporary detention in France usually ends after 24 hours.
The Paris prosecutor’s office opened an investigation last month into attempted organised extortion, which is being handled by anti-corruption police.
French prosecutors are investigating allegations that Paul Pogba was the target of extortion by his elder brother Mathias and childhood friends. They allegedly demanded €13 million (nearly $13m) from the former Manchester United player.
Last week, Mathias Pogba’s lawyer, Richard Arbib, said his client wants “to state emphatically that he is a complete stranger to any extortion attempt against his brother, Paul Pogba.”
The case became public after Mathias Pogba posted a video and tweets threatening to share “explosive revelations” about his brother and Paris Saint-Germain‘s Kylian Mbappe.
Paul Pogba reportedly told investigators the blackmailers aimed to discredit him by claiming he asked a witch doctor to cast a spell on Mbappe.
Pogba denied that allegation and Mbappe has sided with the player he won a World Cup with in 2018.
The 32-year-old Mathias Pogba is also a footballer who spent most of his career with lower-tier teams in England and other European countries.