Schumacher, 47, sustained severe head injuries in a skiing accident in France on December 29, 2013 and has been cared for at his home in Switzerland since September 2014.
His manager Sabine Kehm said at the weekend: `Michael`s health is not a public issue, and so we will continue to make no comment in that regard.
`We have to protect his intimate sphere. Legally seen and in the longer term, every statement related to his health would diminish the extent of his intimate sphere.`
But only hours after that statement was made, it emerged that various European media organisations had been offered the exclusive images.
Prosecutors in Offenburg, Germany, are investigating the pictures as an alleged violation of his `personal range of life`.
In a statement, the prosecutor`s office told Germany`s RTL TV channel the images had been offered for `high amounts of money` but the identity of the seller was not known.
Within hours after Schumacher arrived in hospital in December 2013 a journalist armed with a camera and dressed as a priest had tried to gain entry to his room at a hospital in Grenoble, France.
At the weekend Ms Kehm said the Schumacher family was aware fans were hoping for news of their hero`s condition `but we do this with full commitment to Michael`s guidelines and can only thank people for their understanding.`
Ms Kehm said the family was launching a `Keep Fighting Initiative` as a sign of gratitude to fans and to encourage people inspired by Schumacher`s career `to keep fighting and never give up.`
Schumacher`s accident happened on a family vacation as he was skiing with his son at the Meribel ski resort in the French Alps.
The avid skier hit the right side of his head on a rock, cracking his helmet. Doctors operated to remove blood clots from his brain, but some were left because they were too deeply embedded.
Schumacher`s condition stabilised after he was placed in a drug-induced coma, from which he later emerged.
`Michael has always been very protective of his privacy, even during the most successful times of his career. He has always made sure there is a clear and distinct line between his public persona and his private one,` Ms Kehm said.
Schumacher, who made his name with Benetton before joining Ferrari in 1996, won a record seven F1 titles and 91 races.
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