A 41-year-old Swiss gigolo named Helg Sgarbi who seduced, and then tried to blackmail, Germany’s richest woman - 46-year-old Susanne Klatten. When the two met, Susanne was worth somewhere around 9 to 10 billion euros and had a seat on the boards of both BMW and Atlanta, a chemicals company. She had been every attempt to keep away from the press and possible swindlers or kidnappers until she met Helg. And that’s when things began to turn into a typical Saturday in Sunnyside

The story involves clandestine sex pictures and an obscure Italian sect, and has a thread leading back to the Nazi years.

Yes, please. The Times describes Helg in quite British terms:

Sgarbi, now in a Munich jail, awaiting trial on extortion charges, is handsome in a take-him-home-to-meet-your-mother kind of way. Tall, slim, square-jawed, newly enamelled teeth, a slow blink. But not exactly Heathcliff. There is nothing wild, tousled or tortured about him. The son of a Swiss executive, he is a law graduate and a bank manager - and that is precisely how he looks. All the pictures of him radiate a freshly bathed, talcumpowdered decency. One feels sure that he uses moisturising cream on his hands.

For American audiences: That means he’s more like an OMG Ryan Phillipe than an OMG Johnny Depp. Or like Richard Gere in American Gigolo. Sans gerbil.

The two met in the Summer of 2007, when Susanne, frazzled from her high-stress workload and raising her children, checked into the exclusive Lanserhof spa near Innsbruck. A few days later, Helg checked in. The two exchanged little more than long, lingering looks over hot, steaming plates of Zürcher Geschnetzeltes until Helg finally approached Susanne to talk to her about, of all things, Brazilian author Paulo Coelho’s bestselling book, The Alchemist. Susanne had been reading the book on her holiday, which allowed the perfect in for Helg to talk to her about his international upbringing:

Slowly he told his tale, some of it true. He had grown up in Brazil; his father had been the head of Sulzer, the Swiss engineering group, in South America, so he spoke Portuguese. And Spanish. And Italian - he neglected to mention that he was married to an Italian woman and was even using her name. And French, English and German. He was an officer in the Swiss army reserve. Then came the fantasy: the Swiss Government, he said, sometimes called on him to sort out crises abroad discreetly and efficiently - hostage-taking, that kind of thing.

Having piqued Susanne’s interest with his (literally) incredibly stories, the two forged a friendship. Back in Germany, Susanne decided to take their relationship to the next level and, likely at Helg’s suggestion, booked a private hotel room for the two of them. Unbeknownst to her, however, was the fact that, in the adjoining hotel room, their lovemaking was being filmed. In August, Helg told Susanne that he had been involved in a car accident while on a trip to Miami where he’d accidentally hit and killed the daughter of a Mafioso. The mob was no after him, he explained, unless he could come up with 10 million euros. He could three million easily enough (because, chump change) but wherever would he get the other 7 million…?

Susanne, of course, agreed to lend Helg the money, despite having been brought off to be both careful with and discreet about her massive wealth. A fact highlighted by this charming anecdote:

Her half-blind father Herbert Quandt, one of the most talented industrialists of his generation, had taught her and her younger brother Stefan to be discreet about wealth. There were two models of behaviour in the Quandt family: flash and prudent. The flashy wing was represented by Harald, half-brother to Herbert. Harald had a messed-up childhood. He was the son of Guenther and Magda Quandt. When Magda left the marriage to live with and wed the Nazi propaganda chief Josef Goebbels, she took Harald with her; the little blond Hitler Youth cadet was present on their wedding day. Fortunately for Harald, he was absent when Magda poisoned her six other children in Hitler’s bunker.

German billionaires with Nazi pasts: They’re just like us!

By October, Susanne realized Helg was not who he seemed to be and attempted to end the relationship, He persisted, sending her letters saying things like: “Do you remember, my love, when we met in broad daylight in a Munich hotel room after your holidays?” and demanding 49 million euros as well as a CD of stills from one of their photographed hotel sessions. Finally, Susanne hired a professional mediator and confronted her husband about her affair.

Authorities have charged a 63-year-old Italian man named Ernano Barretta of acting as Helg’s accomplice and perhaps even as the plot’s mastermind. Millions of euros were found in Barretta’s home and he is described as being a cult leader of sorts, tellinghis 30 disciples that he’s accomplished such feats as waling on water.

Helg Sgarbi remains in custody awaiting trial.

And that, friends, is your novela for the day.

Susanne Klatten: the billionairess and her dangerous liaison [Times Online]