Berlin: German police have arrested two men on allegations of blackmailing the family of seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher, daily Bild reported on Thursday.

The two men from the western German city of Wuppertal were arrested on Wednesday and had been seeking millions of euros, Bild reported.

Public prosecutors in Wuppertal have opened an investigation into blackmail directed at a celebrity and arrests have been made in connection with the probe, said a spokesperson, without naming the celebrity.

A spokesperson for Schumacher did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

In 2017, a court in Reutlingen handed a suspended sentence to a man who had sent an email who threatened Schumacher's children unless he received 900,000 euros ($960,000).

Michael Schumacher stands in his garage at the Suzuka circuit October 4, 2012. File photo: Reuters/Toru Hanai
Michael Schumacher stands in his garage at the Suzuka circuit October 4, 2012. File photo: Reuters/Toru Hanai

Schumacher has not been seen in public since he suffered a serious brain injury in a skiing accident on a family holiday in the French Alps in December, 2013.

Schumacher's family maintain strict privacy about his condition, with access limited to those closest to him.

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