Father -son plead guilty in German court for attempted blackmail of Michael Schumacher's family
A father and son from Wuppertal, Germany, admitted guilt in court on Tuesday for attempting to blackmail the family of Formula One legend Michael Schumacher. The men, identified as Yilmaz T. and Daniel L., confessed to threatening the release of private images and videos of Schumacher and demanding €15 million from his family.
The images reportedly included scenes of Schumacher, 55, before and after his 2013 skiing accident, which resulted in a severe brain injury. Schumacher has remained out of the public eye since the incident.
A third individual, Markus F., a former security guard at the Schumacher family’s Swiss residence, also appeared in court but did not admit to his alleged role in the plot. Markus F. is accused of selling the images to the father and son for a "five-figure" sum during his employment, which ended in 2021.
Prosecutors stated that in June, Yilmaz T. repeatedly contacted a Schumacher family employee demanding money. After being asked for proof of the photos, the suspects sent images from a newly created email account, allegedly set up by Daniel L.
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Three company directors held in Rs 100-crore investment fraud in Kochi
Kochi (Kerala) (PTI): Police on Sunday arrested three directors of a firm accused of cheating hundreds of investors of over Rs 100 crore through a fake investment scheme linked to agricultural tourism here, officials said.
The accused were identified as Muraleedharan, Ashik Murali and Akhil Murali, all natives of Thrissur.
The arrests were made by the Kalamassery police in connection with a fraud involving ATCOS (Agri Tourism Cooperative Society), a firm headquartered at Pathadipalam here.
Police said the company had promised high returns by collecting investments from the public in the agricultural tourism sector, but allegedly cheated hundreds of people and fled with the money.
ATCOS was registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act and operated 13 branches across various districts in Kerala, besides a branch in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, officials said.
When investors failed to receive their promised returns or the invested amount, complaints were filed with the police.
Officials said around 54 cases have been registered against the firm in 32 police stations across the state, including 29 cases at the Kalamassery police station alone.
Following instructions from Kochi City Police Commissioner K S Mahesh Kumar, a special investigation team was formed under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Shehensha and Thrikkakara ACP Manoj Kumar.
The team traced the accused to an apartment in Amala Nagar in Thrissur, where they had been hiding after secretly renting the flat, officials said.
The bank accounts of the accused have been frozen, and steps have been initiated to trace their assets, officials said.
Police also conducted a raid at the company’s office at Pathadipalam and seized several documents related to the case.
The accused were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kalamassery, which remanded them to judicial custody and sent them to Kakkanad jail.
Police said they would seek the custody of the accused for further interrogation as the investigation continues.
