By Victor Kanayo
Mathias Pogba, the brother of France midfielder Paul Pogba, has been sentenced to three years in prison by a court in Paris, France.
The sentence according to the court, is with two years suspension, after he was convicted in a high-profile extortion case.
Mathias will serve one year of his sentence under house arrest, wearing an electronic bracelet, instead of being incarcerated.
The court also imposed a fine of 20,000 euros on Pogba for his role in attempting to extort 13 million euros ($13.5 million) from his brother in 2022.
He was found guilty of pressuring Paul Pogba, his family, and business contacts to secure the payment.
The case involving six men linked to Paul Pogba has shocked the French football world because the alleged perpetrators included three childhood friends and Pogba’s own brother.
The five other defendants were found guilty of extortion, kidnapping and detention, as well as participation in a criminal association, and sentenced to up to eight years in prison, as well as fines of between 20,000 euros and 40,000 euros.
Mathias was the one to go public in the case, publishing a video on social media in August 2022 promising revelations about his younger brother that were “likely to be explosive”.
In turn, Pogba told French investigators he had in March 2022 been “tricked by childhood friends” from the gritty Paris suburb where he and Mathias grew up.
He accused them of snatching him before he was held at gunpoint by two hooded men with assault rifles, demanding 13 million euros for “services rendered” and blaming him for not helping them financially.
Pogba said at the time that he had paid them only 100,000 euros.
