The gigolo former lover of Germany’s richest woman goes on trial in Munich Monday, charged with trying to blackmail her out of millions of dollars.
Susanne Klatten, the BMW heiress, complained to police last year that Helg Sgarbi had threatened to release pictures of them if she did not pay him nearly $60 million. Klatten’s spokesman, Joerg Appelhans, told CNN last year that the BMW heiress had alerted police in January that she was the victim of fraud and blackmail by a man he identified at the time as Mr. S. Appelhans said the man had been threatening since autumn 2007 to release pictures of their “meetings” together. “His goal was from the beginning to con her and to blackmail her into giving him money. She rigorously notified authorities even in light of the uncomfortable public repercussions this would have for her. The ensuing criminal investigation led to the arrest of the perpetrator,” Appelhans added.
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Scarbi, who was arrested in January 2008, allegedly maintained relationships with a number of woman, telling them he was special Swiss representative in crisis zones. Klatten, the daughter of the late BMW chief Herbert Quandt, holds a 12.5-percent stake in the German carmaker and a 51.1-percent share of chemical company Altana. Forbes magazine lists her as the world’s 55th richest person, with a personal fortune of $13.2 billion.
