Michael Schumacher’s ex-aide accused of £12m blackmail plot to leak intimate photos on dark web

Michael Schumacher’s ex-aide allegedly plotted a £12m blackmail scheme to leak private photos online.

Revealed for the first time today are extraordinary details about an alleged blackmail plot to extort £12 million from Michael Schumacher’s family. The plot, reportedly orchestrated by a former aide of the F1 legend, involved threats to release highly sensitive personal photos onto the dark web.

Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, now 55, has remained out of the public eye since suffering severe injuries in a 2013 skiing accident. He has required 24-hour care ever since, with his wife, Corinna, fiercely guarding his privacy and overseeing his medical needs.

Among those Corinna had trusted with Schumacher’s care was Markus Fritsche, the family’s bodyguard. Fritsche had been hired 18 months prior to Schumacher's accident.

For eight years, the Schumachers reportedly had no doubts about Fritsche’s loyalty. He was granted unique access to the most private aspects of Schumacher’s medical treatment.

However, when the family decided to restructure Schumacher’s care plan and Fritsche was informed that his services would no longer be required, he allegedly became resentful. Prosecutors claim he then devised an elaborate blackmail scheme.

German prosecutors allege Fritsche enlisted the help of Yilmaz Tozturkan, a long-time friend, and Tozturkan’s son, who is an IT specialist, to demand a massive ransom from the family.

The alleged scheme revolved around approximately 1,500 photos, 200 videos, and detailed medical notes about Schumacher. 

Prosecutors claim this confidential material, stored on four USB sticks and two hard drives, was removed from the Schumacher residence by Fritsche after learning he would be dismissed.

It is alleged that the group then contacted the Schumacher family, disclosed their possession of the stolen material, and threatened to upload it to the dark web unless they were paid £12 million.

The trial of Fritsche, Tozturkan, and Tozturkan’s 30-year-old son, Daniel Lins, is set to begin next month in Wuppertal, Germany, where further details about the alleged plot will be revealed.

Tozturkan, who works as a nightclub bouncer, and Fritsche reportedly had a friendship spanning over 20 years and lived near each other in Wuppertal, where the trial will take place.

In September, Wuppertal public prosecutor Wolf-Tilman Baumert announced the investigation into the case had concluded. This followed the men’s arrests three months earlier during a coordinated operation by Swiss and German police forces.