Ecclestone’s mother-in-law in £28m kidnap
São Paulo gang orders sterling payment for safe return of 67-year-old Aparecida Schunck
The mother-in-law of Formula 1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone has reportedly been taken hostage for a £28 million ransom in what is believed to be Brazil’s biggest kidnapping.
Aparecida Schunck, 67, the mother of Mr Ecclestone’s third wife, Fabiana Flosi, was snatched in Interlagos, São Paulo, according to the Brazilian magazine Veja.
By in Rio de Janeiro THE mother-in-law of Formula 1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone has reportedly been taken hostage for a £28 million ransom in what is believed to be Brazil’s biggest kidnapping.
Aparecida Schunck, the mother of Mr Ecclestone’s third wife, Fabiana Flosi, was snatched in Interlagos, São Paulo, according to the Brazilian magazine Veja.
It is understood Mrs Schunck, 67, lives in the neighbourhood, near where Mr Ecclestone met Ms Flosi at the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2009.
The pair married in 2012 after Mr Ecclestone, 85, divorced his then wife Slavica Radic. Mr Ecclestone is worth an estimated £2.36 billion.
The kidnappers were said to be in contact with the Ecclestone family after demanding R$120 million (£27.84 million) to be paid in sterling in four bags.
Security services in São Paulo said they did not comment on kidnapping cases for the safety of the victim and could not confirm the reports.
The Ecclestone family also declined to comment.
However, it was described as the biggest ever kidnapping ransom in the country amid heightened security concerns ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympics, which start in less than two weeks. In the host city, a New Zealand athlete reported being “kidnapped” by police officers at the weekend and forced to withdraw money from an ATM to secure his release. Jason Lee, a jiu jitsu fighter, said: “I was threatened with arrest if I did not get in their private car and accompany them to two ATMs to withdraw a large sum of money for a bribe. “I’m not sure what’s more depressing – the fact this stuff is happening to foreigners so close to the Olympic Games or the fact that Brazilians have to live in a society that enables this absolute b------- on a daily basis.” Brazilian media yesterday reported that two officers had been arrested. While abductions have become less common over the years, Brazil was still reported to be in the top five countries in the world for kidnappings, with 1,000 across the country in 2012. More than 40,000 troops have been deployed to Rio and the five other football host cities – including São Paulo – to provide security during the Games. The armed forces took over public security in Rio from last weekend with 22,000 on patrol on the main roads, coast and strategic locations. “Today, at the end of a long work of preparation, begins a new stage, when the armed forces ensure the defence and security of the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Raul Jungmann, defence minister.