Bernie Ecclestone’s Mother-in-Law Kidnapped in Brazil

Aparecida Schunck, the mother-in-law of Formula 1 impresario Bernie Ecclestone, was kidnapped in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Friday. The 67-year-old’s kidnappers have demanded 120 million Reals ($36.5 million), the largest ransom ever in Brazil, reports the BBC.

Schunck is the mother of Ecclestone’s wife, 38-year-old Fabiana Flosi, who married the F1 chief in 2012 after the two met at the Brazilian Grand Prix three years earlier. Ecclestone divorced his second wife of 25 years to be with Flosi in the U.K. The Formula 1 magnate, who is estimated to be worth $3.1 billion, is no stranger to kidnapping. Motorsport.com reports that in 2012 a man named Martin Peckham threatened to kidnap Ecclestone’s daughter if he wasn’t paid 200,000 pounds ($262,500). Peckham was sentenced to five years in prison.

Schunck’s kidnappers demand that the ransom be paid in British pounds and divided into four bags. The kidnapping comes just weeks before the Olympic Games are set to be held in Rio de Janeiro, at a time when officials are trying to reassure attendees and participants of the country’s safety. Kidnapping used to be more prevalent in Brazil, with an abduction occurring in Sao Paulo every 27 hours in 2002, according to the BBC. But in recent years, police have cracked down on kidnapping by employing a special anti-kidnapping unit.

We’ll update this story as more details become available.

Source: BBC, Motorsport.com

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