“What was planned was a meeting with friends, to have a good time. » On the second day of the trial of Paul Pogba's relatives, Wednesday November 27, Machikour K., the first defendant who appeared, before the 16e criminal chamber of the Paris court, for the attempted extortion of which the footballer was the victim, drew up a line of defense which will be taken up by several of his co-defendants.
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Large black parka and small trimmed beard, the man who presents himself as manager of a restaurant will not stop, throughout the four hours of interrogation, minimizing his role and telling a completely different story than the one retained by the prosecution. , a set-up to scare the football star and extract a large sum of money from him.
Five childhood friends of the former Juventus player are accused of extortion, attempted extortion, kidnapping and kidnapping, and criminal conspiracy, during the night of March 19 to 20, 2022, then in the days that followed. Paul Pogba's brother, Mathias, is on trial for attempted extortion and criminal association. At the center of attention and denials, there is this famous night when the footballer was taken away by his “quasi-brothers” in an apartment – rented on a platform – in Montévrain (Seine-et-Marne), then targeted by two heavily armed people who ordered him to pay 13 million euros.
No, there was no intention of demanding money from the wealthy midfielder, the first two defendants heard by the court kept repeating. “It was not planned”argues Machikour K., who is called “Mach”. Nothing had been organized or planned in advance: the gang just intended to take advantage of their friend's coming to France to “put things straight with Paul”explains the 36-year-old young man. The date of the French team gathering in which the player was to participate was certainly known to everyone, but, according to him, everything happened spontaneously. That evening, Paul Pogba came to the parents of Adama C., whom he has known since childhood, spent three hours there before joining the rest of the gang to ” discuss “.
A “project” to be financed by the champion
Adama C., heard on Thursday November 28, will repeat this same refrain: “Every time he returns to France, Paul comes to the neighborhood to see us, unexpectedly. » He therefore welcomes the player with his brother, to his parents. Adama is the confidant, the one through whom requests pass “help”coming from friends or the neighborhood, to Paul. He lives from multiple and regular transfers made by the footballer – “three to four times a year, sums of 2,000 to 15,000 euros”he explains to the audience. It is therefore natural that he also welcomes that evening, still at his parents' house, Roushdane K., Machikour's older brother. The latter has a ” project “which he wants to have financed by the champion.
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