Michael Schumacher’s wife Corinna has taken an even firmer stance on who is permitted to see her husband. Racing legend Schumacher has not been seen in public since his tragic accident 12 years ago.

In December 2013, the seven-time Formula One world champion suffered a severe head injury while skiing in the French Alps. After hitting his head on a rock he was placed in a medically induced coma for several months before moving back to his family home in Lake Geneva the following year, ever since which he has been under the constant care of his wife and medical professionals. Very few people have been granted permission to visit Schumacher, with his family keeping details of his condition private. That’s in spite of numerous rumours, stories and even an attempt at extortion with regards to leaking such information.

Nightclub bouncer Yilmaz Tozturkan, 54, was handed a three-year prison sentence in February this year following a plot to use 900 personal photos and nearly 600 videos of Schumacher to demand £12million from his family, with the threat of uploading them and confidential medical records onto the dark web. Yilmaz is currently free after paying bail worth 10,000 euros (£8,800) Bild reports.

Markus Fritsche, 54, who was employed by a security firm tasked with protecting the family home, faced accusations of conspiring to steal photographs and medical details from a computer before passing them on to Tozturkan. He denied any involvement in the extortion.

Fritsche was given a two-year suspended sentence at Wuppertal district court, while Tozturkan’s 31-year-old son Daniel Lins received a six-month suspended sentence for assisting in the plot

One of the two hard drives which the data was stored on has not been recovered, with the Schumacher family since making it clear that they want a harsher punishment for the trio. During the appeal hearing on November 14, Lins withdrew his appeal, meaning his suspended sentence became legally binding. 

He also announced he would no longer testify in the trial as the son of the main defendant. His father had also announced shortly before that he would no longer make any statements.

At the appeal trial this month, the long-time manager of the Schumachers, Sabine Kehm, spoke about the extortion attempt as a witness. Kehm, 60, who is one of the few people included in the family’s inner circle, cited the increased mistrust as a result of the ordeal as a reason for Corinna now granting even fewer people access to her husband.

Kehm said in court: “The breach of trust has led to the family keeping more distance from the people who work for them, to being more cautious. 

“I personally find it extremely perfidious that they want to exploit the suffering like this, so it’s clear that the family is taking a tougher stance towards their members.”

Among those who were included in the inner circle are; Corinna, her children Mick and Gina-Maria Schumacher, Kehm and close Formula One friends Ross Brawn, Jean Todt, Gerhard Berger, Luca Badoer and Felipe Massa.