BMW heiress blackmailer says sorry

The Swiss banker who duped a BMW heiress out of millions of euros has apologised to her after being sentenced to six years in prison for fraud and blackmail.

Helg Sgarbi convinced Susanne Klatten, a member of the Quandt family who sits on the board of BMW, to give him 7 million (6.4 million) and then threatened to release a secretly recorded sex tape of the couple unless she gave him a further 49 million (45 million).

After his conviction Sgarbi said: 'I deeply regret what has happened and I apologise before this court and the public to this wronged woman.'

The prosecution had pushed for a nine-year sentence because 6 million (5.5 million) and the sex tape remain unaccounted for.