Schumacher blackmail: suspected accomplice arrested
In the course of the attempted extortion of the Michael Schumacher family, there is another arrest. It is believed to be a man who worked for the family. Potential evidence could now provide further clues to his role.
In the case of the attempted extortion of the family of the former Formula-1 World Champion Michael Schumacher, the police have arrested a suspected accomplice. He is a 52-year-old man who had worked as a security guard for the family, said Senior Public Prosecutor Wolf-Tilman Baumert in Wuppertal. The man was arrested in Wülfrath near Wuppertal. A large number of further evidence was secured at the time. These will now be evaluated.
The investigators had finally tracked down the suspects in the matter of where they obtained the photos from the private life and immediate environment of the Schumacher family. They had come across the 52-year-old man. Michael Schumacher had sustained severe injuries in a skiing accident at the end of 2013. Since then, he has not appeared in public.
The suspects had claimed to employees of the family that they possessed files to which the family's interest in non-disclosure was relevant, according to the prosecution at the time. They had demanded a payment in millions - otherwise, they would publish the data on the Darknet. As evidence, they had sent some files to the family.
Men are known to the police
The investigation was initiated based on a tip from the criminal investigation authorities in Switzerland and was originally being conducted by the Public Prosecutor's Office in Kassel. Through "technical measures", the investigators were able to determine, according to their information, that the alleged extortionists were operating from Wuppertal. The two 53 and 30-year-old suspects were arrested on June 19 at a supermarket car park in Groß-Gerau, Hesse. The two are also known to the police: They are reportedly under investigation in another matter.
It is not the first attempt to extort the family of the former racing driver. In 2017, the Reutlingen Magistrates' Court in Baden-Württemberg sentenced a 25-year-old man for attempting to extort €900,000 from Schumacher's wife Corinna Schumacher. He had threatened that something would happen to the children otherwise. The man was sentenced to a probation order of 21 months.
The international media coverage of the extortion attempt against Michael Schumacher's family has led to speculation about potential blackmail attempts from individuals beyond just the arrested suspect. This is a concern for the security and privacy of the Schumacher family, given their prominent international status.
Despite the arrest of the 52-year-old suspect, authorities are still investigating other individuals involved in the attempted blackmail, given their past associations with the Schumacher family and previous attempted extortion attempts.
