Since the start of the notorious legal case that bears his name, Paul Pogba has been heard twice: on July 16 by Italian investigators in Turin and then on August 9 in Nanterre by French authorities. Here is the story of his hearing before French investigators, according to sources familiar with the matter on BFMTV.
• March 19: the return to France and the extortion attempt
On March 19, the international meets in France for a France team meeting. He lent one of his cars to two childhood friends but this vehicle was confiscated by the police. Therefore, the player is forced to return to Paris. Paul Pogba still has many ties in France. He takes advantage of his visit to take a walk around the city where he grew up. He finds out that the mother of one of her friends is sick and decides to go see her.
>> Pogba case: all the information LIVE
At the bottom of the building, a man is waiting for her. This man, she knows him, is a childhood friend. His proposal is curious and Paul Pogba is surprised. “You’re going to come with me, leave your driver,” he tells her. Paul Pogba is reassured by the presence of his other childhood friends. However, he finds his friend’s words “curious”. He unknown destination, but he decides to go there. “Maybe in ’94’, he tells the investigators. He goes to an apartment. Another childhood friend opens the door for him. Paul Pogba is forced to leave his phone. In that apartment he sees five people, all friends of the childhood: Machicour, Roushdane (brother of Machicour), Adama C., Boubacar (brother of Adama C.) and Mamadou Magassa, nicknamed “Mam’s”.
“Two guys walk into the room. They were wearing balaclavas over their faces, bulletproof vests. One was armed with an M16-type assault rifle and the other with a shotgun.”
The first to speak is Mamadou. The man then complains about having been accused of stealing money from Paul Pogba, a rumor that would come from the 2018 world champion himself. ‘Mam’s’ continues with his momentum and insists: he is aware that Paul Pogba has paid a marabout several times. Mamadou Magassa, annoyed, threatens to say around him that, in fact, Paul Pogba paid a marabout because he wanted to “harm the people around him”. He even claims to have evidence on a USB key. On this subject, Paul Pogba’s version diverges: yes, he had to deal with a marabout… to whom he made donations so that he could send “food and merchandise to Africa to help populations in difficulty”.
Then another man takes the floor: the one called Roushdane. He also threatens Paul Pogba – whom he claims to have protected – asking him to pay up. All the men present leave, only Roushdane, Adama and Paul Pogba remain in the room. The French international tells investigators what happened next: “Two guys entered the room. They were wearing balaclavas over their faces, bulletproof vests. One was armed with an M16-type assault rifle and the other with a shotgun. (… .) Roushdane told me that they were my protectors because according to him the bandits wanted to extort or kidnap me, I had to pay them, the two guys armed their weapons and pointed their weapons at me, telling me that I had to pay or the world would be in danger. They asked me for 13 million euros. Three million in cash and 10 million in bank transfer. Being assaulted under threats I told them I was going to pay”.
“I wanted to talk but they were yelling ‘Shut up, look down,’ continues Paul Pogba. Then everyone goes back into the room. Pogba is scared.” Roushdane said that he had to pay. He was scared.” Paul Pogba claims to have been locked in the apartment for five hours, from 11:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.
• March 20: the call to the bank
On March 20, the French international calls his bank. Boubacar is at his side. Paul Pogba asks for 11 million for a ‘kind of investment’. “I wanted my bank to understand that there was a problem, but I couldn’t tell because Boub’s (Boubacar) was there.” The bank refuses. His childhood friends offer him another solution: invest in cryptocurrencies and the metaverse.”
• End of March-April current: the transaction stopped by Paul Pogba
Pogba then left for an internship at Clairefontaine and returned to England on March 30. Boubacar makes him sign a cryptocurrency investment commitment document. He also gives her 100,000 euros in cash, “because he couldn’t do more”, specifies Paul Pogba.
He asks his bank again because he needs 12.9 million euros. This amount, once released, must be transferred to the Adama account in Dubai. But Paul Pogba does not go to the end of the transaction. He stops everything. He then tells them about TRACFIN, a French intelligence service. “I told Boubacar and Adama that he was punctured, that there was an investigation into the transfer attempt.” Mobsters no longer request it for 10 days. Then, in April, they return to it. Paul Pogba confesses that he has changed his number. The gangsters try to reach him, without success.
• Mid-July: the voice memo
In mid-July, Paul Pogba is in Turin. Roushdane, using Mathias Pogba’s phone, leaves him a voice note. The man assures that everyone is in danger because of him, that Paul Pogba must go immediately. The Juventus player from Turin changes his phone again and files a complaint in France and Italy
• July 30: Mathias Pogba’s phone message
July 30, Paul Pogba receives a threatening message from his brother’s phone. “He sends me a message to tell me that he found out about everything, that they robbed him, that I have to pay because otherwise he will throw everything he knows into the media. And that he had five days to pay because otherwise my image would be ruined. “
Paul Pogba hesitates. “The exact words of the message make me doubt, I’m not sure if it was my brother who wrote them. I warned my mom to leave, it was that day that she told her what happened to me. .” Nine days later, the French international will hand over this entire story to French investigators.