Former security guard of Michael Schumacher arrested in connection with an extortion attempt amounting to 15 million euros

As the Telegraph reports, a former security guard for Michael Schumacher’s team was arrested in Wülfrath, West Germany, in connection with a series of extortion attempts against the family of the legendary Formula 1 champion.

Michael Schumacher, who is celebrated for his seven-time Formula 1 world championship title, has withdrawn from the public eye since his serious skiing accident in 2013, during which his family kept his health condition strictly secret. However, this discretion did not protect the family from criminal threats. In 2017, a private citizen demanded 900,000 euros from Schumacher’s wife Corinna and threatened to harm their children if she did not pay. The Reutlingen district court in Baden-Württemberg thwarted this attempt and sentenced the blackmailer to a 21-month suspended sentence.

The latest incident occurred when 53-year-old Yilmaz T. and his 30-year-old son, whose names have been partially released for legal reasons, were arrested on June 19 in a supermarket parking lot in Gross-Gerau, Hesse. They are accused of demanding 15 million euros from the Schumacher family in exchange for withholding private photos and documents. Officials revealed that the blackmailers had offered the former security guard a commission for his assistance in their plan.

The investigation was initiated by findings from Swiss law enforcement authorities and initially carried out by the Kassel public prosecutor’s office before being linked to operations in Wuppertal. As part of this thorough investigation, the authorities linked the 52-year-old former security officer to the crimes. Subsequent measures led to searches of eight properties, during which several important data storage devices were seized, the contents of which, however, remain under lock and key. Both Yilmaz T. and his son were previously known to the authorities and were already on probation in another criminal case.