Michael Schumacher blackmail plot ‘mastermind’ is arrested by German police and revealed to be former family security guard
Police have arrested the suspected “mastermind” behind a plot to blackmail the family of former Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher, German media report.
It concerns a 52-year-old man who worked as a security guard for the family, according to the public prosecutor’s office in Wuppertal.
This follows the arrest of two other suspects – a 53-year-old father, identified only as Yilmaz T, and his 30-year-old son – on June 19.
The pair claimed they had sensitive files containing footage of the Formula 1 legend following his near-fatal skiing accident in 2013.
They are said to have told the Schumachers that they “did not want (the photos) to be published” and that they would demand “millions” to stop them from doing so.
The seven-time world champion has not been seen in public since suffering a serious brain injury in the brutal skiing accident in the French Alps
According to investigators, the two men handed over “individual files” to the family to show they had access to documents related to the Formula 1 star.
A senior prosecutor in Wuppertal confirmed to German media that a preliminary evaluation of the data sets obtained during the search of the bouncer’s apartment contained “photographs relating to the private life of the Schumacher family.”
During the investigation into the origin of the photos by the two men, police managed to identify the third suspect, according to reports.
The 52-year-old man was arrested and detained in the town of Wülfrath in western Germany.
His role is said to have involved digitally converting private photos of the family so that he could hand them over to Yilmaz T and his son.
German investigators received a tip about the blackmail plan from authorities in Switzerland, where Schumacher has been receiving care at his parents’ home since the accident.
The seven-time world champion has not appeared in public since suffering serious brain injuries in a serious skiing accident in the French Alps.
Schumacher, considered one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time, suffered a bizarre fall just metres from a popular ski slope, leaving him with serious head injuries less than a year after retiring from the sport.
His wife Corinna, whom he married in 1995, has since demanded complete secrecy about his condition.