Trio charged over alleged €15m Michael Schumacher blackmail plot

Three men have been charged over an alleged plot to blackmail the family of F1 legend Michael Schumacher.

A 53-year-old man from Wuppertal threatened to release private photos and videos of Schumacher and demanded €15m (£12.5m) from Schumacher’s family, The Guardian reports.

The two other suspects charged included a man who worked as a security guard for the Schumacher family until 2021.

This man, also 53, is believed to have sourced the material and faces a “considerable” jail term on charges of being an accomplice to attempted blackmail and breach of privacy.

Money was demanded from the Schumacher family during several phone calls made to an employee in June this year.

The chief suspect, who could face a maximum jail sentence of up to 15 years, is believed to have threatened to leak the images if the fee demanded was not paid.

His 30-year-old son has also been charged with being an accomplice to blackmail after helping his father create an untraceable email address.

Schumacher’s family alerted authorities in Switzerland and investigators were able to trace the plot to Germany.

Seven-time world champion Schumacher has not been seen in public since suffering a serious brain injury in a skiing accident in the French Alps in 2013.

The 55-year-old was placed into an induced coma following his accident and was brought home in September 2014, with his medical condition kept private by his family ever since.

A rare update was provided by Schumacher’s family in September 2021 upon the release of a Netflix documentary about the F1 legend’s life.

Schumacher’s wife Corinna said the 91-time grand prix winner is “different, but he’s here”.

"He still shows me how strong he is every day,” said Corinna. "We're trying to carry on as a family.

"We live together at home. We do therapy.

"We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make sure he's comfortable. And to simply make him feel our family, our bond.

"And no matter what, I will do everything I can. We all will. And we are getting on with our lives.”