Benzema under formal investigation in sex tape blackmail case

The French international footballer Karim Benzema has been placed under formal judicial investigation in connection with an alleged attempt to blackmail a fellow footballer over a sex tape. A statement from the Versailles prosecutor said the alleged crime of conspiracy to blackmail and participating in a criminal group for which he was being investigated could carry a prison sentence of at least five years. Benzema’s lawyer Sylvain Cormier, told reporters after a hearing that Benzema was innocent and...