Three charged over Michael Schumacher blackmail plot amid claims suspects demanded £12.5m to avoid photo leak

26 September 2024, 15:49

Three men have been charged after a plot to blackmail the family of Formula 1 icon Michael Schumacher was uncovered by police.

The men were arrested in Germany over allegations they demanded £12.5million (€15 million) from the racing star's family in exchange for not releasing personal photos and videos.

A 53-year-old bouncer, Yilmaz T, was arrested alongside his 30-year-old son in June.

One month later, the Schumacher family's former security guard, also 53, was arrested and has since been accused by prosecutors of 'masterminding' the plot. 

The trio claimed to possess files containing sensitive information on the F1 star, with his former security guard allegedly selling private photos of Schumacher to the two blackmailers.

Prosecutors have said "technical measures" eventually made it possible to track down the alleged blackmailers to Wuppertal, Germany.

The racing legend, 55, has not been seen in public since his near-fatal skiing accident in France in 2013, which left the star in a six month induced coma following a severe bleed on the brain.

Schumacher's family have kept the driver's condition private about the star's condition since the accident.

However, a host of attempts have been made by outsiders to glean information on the star's condition.

Following the accident one journalist was seen to dress up as a priest in an attempt to access the star's hospital room.

Read more: Michael Schumacher’s family awarded six-figure sum in damages after court battle over fake interview

Now, Yilmaz T, stands accused of demanding large sums of money not to spill the sensitive images - including personal family photos - onto the dark web. 

The charges of atttempted blackmail come with a maximum jail term fo 15 years in Germany if found guilty.

The suspect's 30-year-old son was charged as an accomplice to blackmail by prosecutors, amid claims he created an untraceable email address from which photos were sent to the family as proof during the blackmail attempt. 

The third suspect, Schumacher's former security guard, is said to have converted the photos to digital form and sold them to Yilmaz T and his son for a "six-figure" fee, it's claimed.

The plot was effectively foiled after authorities in Switzerland contacted German police to inform them that the Schumacher family was being blackmailed.

Schumacher has been cared for by medical professionals at the family home in Switzerland since the accident.

It comes after Michael Schumacher’s family were awarded a six-figure sum in damages earlier this year after a fake interview was published by a German women’s magazine last year.

In April last year, Die Aktuelle published a fake interview with the F1 legend, who has not been seen since he suffered life-threatening injuries in the French Alps in 2013.

The magazine presented the 'interview' as Schumacher’s first since his skiing accident.