German Heiress Blackmail Plot

(Rome, Italy) In a story that is creating a sensation in Europe, BMW heiress Susanne Klatten alleges that a gigolo she had relations with is blackmailing her for millions of euros.

German heiress Susanne Klatten, 45, paid 7.5 million euros (£6 million) to a Swiss-Italian man who claimed he was being threatened with death by the mafia.

The married mother of three, whose £8 billion wealth makes her the third richest woman in Europe, was then allegedly blackmailed by Helg Sgarbi when he threatened to go public with films of the couple having what Italian judicial authorities described as "intimate relations" during secret trysts in luxury hotels.

Mr Sgarbi, 41, was arrested in Austria during the summer in a joint operation between German and Italian police and is now in prison in Germany after being charged with extortion.

Details of the blackmailing allegations have only now come to light through Italian investigators.

Mrs Klatten, whose huge wealth comes from stakes in BMW and the chemicals giant Altana, eventually decided to contact the police when he asked for an astonishing 40 million euros (£32 million) not to make the compromising footage public.

His accomplice, Italian hotel owner Ernano Barretta, 63, who is said to have secretly filmed the sex sessions using hidden cameras, was arrested by Italy's Flying Squad in the seaside town of Pescara, on the Adriatic coast, and is also in jail awaiting trial.

Astonishingly, Sgarbi and Barretta are claiming their blackmail scheme was a vendetta against Mrs. Klatten for her family's alleged links to the Nazis during WWII. They allege that Klatten's father was a close collaborator of Adolf Hitler.

Both Sgarbi and Barretta are in jail awaiting trial.

I suspect this story may have staying power, particularly if new developments emerge. It's also strange that a blackmailer would successfully fleece Klatten for $12 million and then be stupid enough to go back for more. It doesn't make sense.

Tip: Barry