Blackmailers had post-injury photos of Michael Schumacher

Blackmailers threatened to release photos of the injured Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher, according to Germany’s biggest newspaper Bild.

According to another German-language newspaper, Austria’s Kleine Zeitung, German public investigators and prosecutors "found private photos in the possession" of two men who were trying to blackmail the Schumacher family.

"The suspects, who are said to be father and son, were arrested by Hessian police on June 19," said the article. "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 added.

"The two men, aged 30 and 53, also sent materials to the (Schumacher) family to prove ownership of the files."

Bild newspaper, meanwhile, claims the photos in question "are said to depict Schumacher after his skiing accident".

And yet another newspaper, Sudkurier, 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 in a statement that the materials in the blackmailers’ possession included, "among other things, photo files relating to the Schumacher family’s private life".

The same Wuppertal prosecutor is also quoted as saying by 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."