’s brother, Mathias, is one of five suspects who have been imprisoned on Saturday evening over the ongoing blackmail case involving the and France midfielder.
Mathias Pogba, 32, has been accused of ‘extortion in an organised gang’ and ‘participation in a criminal association with a view to preparing a crime’.
He will be held in jail while he awaits a decision from the judge regarding bail.
‘We are going to challenge this decision,’ Mathias Pogba’s lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou, told BFMTV on Saturday night.
Bouzrou added that Mathias ‘has not committed a criminal offence’.
The four other suspects who have been indicted and placed in pre-trial detention alongside Mathias are aged between 27 and 36 and are relatives of the Pogba brothers, according to an AFP source close to investigation.
Romain Boulet, who is defending a 33-year-old man who has been imprisoned as part of the ongoing investigation said: ‘I regret this decision, even if it was requested to protect him in particular.
‘He is the victim of manipulation and threats from blackmailers, just like Paul Pogba. It’s a trap that has closed on him.’
On Wednesday, .
Paul Pogba has accused the gang of demanding €13 million (£11.2m) from him in ‘protection money’, essentially worth €1m (£860,000) a year from the age of 16 when he first became a professional footballer.
Pogba, who now plays for after joining them on a free transfer from Manchester United in the summer, handed over €100,000 (£85,000) to the group after being escorted at gunpoint to a flat in Roissy-en-Brie, in the eastern suburb of , in March.
The World Cup winner then went to the police after the gang continued to press him for more money.
In a video he released at the end of August, Mathias accused Paul of lying to Italian authorities.
‘I hope you won’t be fooled by an attempt to manipulate the media and the authorities,’ said Mathias.
‘When you are famous the world is with you, the authorities listen more attentively. But that doesn’t put you above the law, the police aren’t your minions.
‘Ah, and not long ago, my brother claimed to the Italian police that he did not know our 1st cousin, with whom we grew up, paying him a simple visit and who did nothing to Paul, the family can testify to this. This is about a harassment complaint against an innocent cousin…
‘Some will ask why we are talking about a story about my cousin. Someone who is not honest with policemen without a reason, is he going to be honest with you, even if it is through lawyers? Otherwise, for the rest, patience, it is coming.’
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