Suspected of attempting to blackmail the family of the Formula 1 legend, the German Michael Schumacher, a 53-year-old father and his 30-year-old son were arrested, the public prosecutor’s office in Wuppertal (west) said on Monday. These two people told collaborators of the family of the seven-time world champion between 1994 and 2004 that they were in possession of data that they would not like to see exposed in the media.
To prevent the dissemination of this data on the “darknet” (the hidden and opaque side of the web), the duo had demanded millions of euros from the family, declared the prosecution, without specifying what data it was. Arrested by the police in the parking lot of a Frankfurt supermarket last Wednesday, the two men had sent the Schumacher family elements likely to prove their assertions.
They risk up to five years in prison
On the day of the arrest of the two alleged blackmailers, last Wednesday, a total of eight locations were searched: their main homes, the father’s second home and workplace in Konstanz, as well as other locations in Solingen. Several computer media have been seized and are currently being evaluated.
Victim of serious head trauma after a skiing accident in December 2013 in the French resort of Méribel, the German pilot (55 years old) is currently being treated at his home. After spending six months in an artificial coma, almost no information has filtered out since regarding his state of health.
The father and son were presented to the court in Wuppertal last Thursday for incarceration. If convicted, they could face up to five years in prison.
