Karim Benzema’s lawyers to take legal action over leaked transcript

Lawyers for Karim Benzema are to take legal action after the publication of an apparent transcript of a conversation between the Real Madrid striker and a friend which is part of the inquiry into an alleged sex-tape blackmail plot against his France team-mate Mathieu Valbuena.

Benzema’s lawyer Sylvain Cormier said the publication of the phone-tap evidence violated the confidentiality of an official judicial investigation. He said the publication of the transcript, which was first reported by Europe 1 radio and then by the sports paper L’Equipe, was “a scandalous method”.

He told the Associated Press: “We believe the files have been leaked to the press to influence Valbuena’s future testimony.” The lawyers are to take action for “violation of judicial confidentiality” aimed at finding and punishing those who made the leaks. Another lawyer for Benzema, Alain Jakubowicz, said they would stop at nothing to find the person who was making the leaks.

Benzema was last week placed under formal judicial investigation for the alleged crime of conspiracy to blackmail and participating in a criminal group. Investigators are now seeking to determine whether or not Benzema played a role in any alleged extortion attempt against his team-mate over a sex tape. Cormier has said that Benzema was “totally innocent” and “played no part in any blackmail or attempted blackmail”.

The investigation was opened at the end of July when Valbuena, a France and Lyon midfielder, went to the police after being contacted by an unknown man claiming to be in possession of an incriminating sex tape apparently recorded on a mobile phone. The caller did not specify a sum of money but said they should come to an arrangement.

Police then took over, posing as Valbuena’s business associate in later calls with the alleged blackmailers, who threatened to release the video some time before the Euro 2016 Championship, which France is hosting. The investigation led them to three men who have been placed under formal judicial investigation.

Cristiano Ronaldo: I want to retire with 'dignity', not in USA, Qatar or Dubai

Cristiano Ronaldo said Friday that he wants to end his career “with dignity” and not playing in “the United States, Qatar or Dubai”. The Real Madrid and Portugal star, the subject of a new documentary that premiered on Monday in London, said Thursday in an interview on ITV’s The Jonathan Ross Show that he expected to play six or seven more seasons and hoped to finish his career at the highest level. The remarks ostensibly referenced the recent wave of top players who have finished their careers outside of Europe’s top leagues, among them MLS imports Didier Drogba, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo and David Villa, along with Xavi, the lifelong Barcelona midfielder who signed with Qatari club Al Sadd in May. “That does not mean it’s bad play in the leagues of the United States, Qatar or Dubai, but I do not see myself there,” Ronaldo said. Ronaldo, who turns 31 in February, became Real Madrid’s all-time leading goalscorer last month and has th...

Young people to lose access to unemployment benefits as part of welfare reforms

YOUNG people will not be able to get unemployment benefits until they turn 25 under reforms introduced by the Turnbull Government today. The coalition has unveiled wide-ranging welfare reforms in parliament today, including changes to the Newstart program. It hopes to stop people aged 22 to 24 getting Newstart or the Sickness allowance, and they will instead be shifted to the Youth Allowance payment. This will reduce the amount of money that they will be able to get, costing a single person living away from home about $90 a fortnight. They will also be required to study in order to qualify for the payments. “The key aim of this measure is to provide incentives for young unemployed people to obtain the relevant education and training to increase employability,” according to an explanatory memorandum for the bill. However, it says Youth Allowance does allow students to earn a higher amount of money from part-time or casual work than Newstart, before this begins imp...

Janitor earning $327,000 a year caught ‘slacking off’

THIS janitor clocked so much overtime that he took home $327,000 in a single year — but was allegedly caught out hiding in a closet for hours. Liang Zhao Zhang earned a base salary of $75,874 ($US57,945) in 2015 for cleaning San Francisco’s Powell Street station. But once overtime was taken into account, his salary and benefits added up to a whopping $327,000 ($US250,000)— giving his earnings a boost of $212,190 — revealed in public records released by Transparent California. An investigation by local broadcaster KTVU found that Mr Zhang was paid for working 17 hours a day for 18 days in a row in July 2015, and clocked fulltime hours during his annual leave. This superhuman feat prompted the station’s 2 Investigates program to take a closer look at just what Mr Zhang was up to during these marathon-length work days. What they say they found raised “serious questions” about the municipal transport authority’s oversight of its employee timesheets. Investigative reporters examine...

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