Matthias Pogba, the elder brother of football star Paul Pogba, is among six individuals sentenced by a French court to prison for extortion.

The group, including Matthias, received prison terms ranging from three to five years for coercing Paul into paying K27 billion.

The court also ordered Matthias to pay fines for his involvement in the extortion ring, which reportedly included people Paul has known since childhood.

Matthias’ lawyer, Mbeko Tabula, criticized the sentence, describing it as excessively harsh and confirming plans to appeal.

“Matthias has always maintained his innocence. He was pressured and misled into participating. He would never deliberately harm his younger brother,” Tabula stated.

The extortion case gained attention in August 2022 when Matthias posted a video threatening to expose Paul’s private secrets.