Blackmailers threatened to publicly release photographs of the injured Formula 1 icon Michael Schumacher, reports Germany's leading newspaper, Bild.
Another German-language publication, Austria's Kleine Zeitung, reported that German law enforcement authorities found private photos of the seven time world champion in the possession of two individuals attempting to extort the Schumacher family.
"The suspects, who are said to be father and son, were arrested by Hessian police on June 19," the report mentioned. "They are said to have tried to extort millions from the family of the former Formula 1 driver."
"According to the public prosecutor's office, the suspects told family members that they had files that the (Schumacher) family might be interested in not publishing. They then threatened to publish them on the dark net," Kleine Zeitung further reported.
"The two men, aged 30 and 53, also sent materials to the (Schumacher) family to prove ownership of the files."
According to Bild, the contentious photos are believed to depict Schumacher following his 2013 skiing accident.
Sudkurier reported that one of the blackmailers "offered the material to two people more than two years ago so that they could carry out the blackmail together, but they refused."
Senior public prosecutor Wolf-Tilman Baumert confirmed that the blackmailers' possessions included "among other things, photo files relating to the Schumacher family's private life."
The prosecutor from Wuppertal also mentioned to the German broadcaster RTL, "For investigative tactical reasons, we do not currently want to provide any further information about what exactly can be seen in the photos."
Germany
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