Celebrity chef Frank Heppner was reportedly among the 25 people arrested in sweeping raids by German police which foiled an alleged plot to storm the parliament and execute the Chancellor, Daily Mail reported.
Heppner, 62, whose son-in-law is Real Madrid and Austria footballing star David Alaba, is believed to have been arrested in the glitzy Austrian ski resort of Kitzbuhel where he owns and operates a restaurant.
According to German outlet Bild, investigators believe the celebrity chef was a high-ranking member of the military wing of the Reichsburger group - a band of plotters who want to overthrow the modern German democratic state and install a member of a German royal family as the new leader.
Germany's attorney general said the Reichsburger's militarised unit was responsible for 'the recruitment of new members, the procurement of weapons, establishing an IT and communication structure, and drawing up plans for future accommodation and catering, Daily Mail reported.
Austria's Die Presse wrote that Heppner would 'take over the canteens of the new German Reich' and supply their troops.
Prior to opening his own luxury restaurant and building a catering empire, Heppner plied his trade working as the head chef for five star hotels the world over, becoming a specialist in Euro-Asian cuisine. He is renowned for designing the menu for Hilton International in Seoul, South Korea, cooking at the Peninsula Hotels of the Philippines and Hong Kong, and working as head chef at the Michelin-starred Mark's restaurant in Munich, Daily Mail reported.
The celebrity chef's daughter, Shalimar Heppner, has a son with Real Madrid's Alaba.