Stephen Walsh
The mother-in-law of billionaire Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has reportedly been kidnapped in Brazil.
Aparecida Schunck, the 67-year-old mother of Mr Ecclestone’s wife Fabiana Flosi, was seized in Sao Paulo on Friday night, according to local news sources.
Veja, a weekly news magazine, and TV network, Globo, have both reported that the kidnappers are demanding a ransom of £28million.
If true, this would be a record sum for an abduction in the country, with the culprits reportedly demanding the cash be split into four bags.
However, police in the city have not yet commented on the media claims.
Mr Ecclestone, 85, is believed to be worth an estimated £2.4billion, making him one of sport’s most powerful people.
Kidnapping and abductions were rife in the South American country more than a decade ago, with one being committed in Sao Paulo every 27 hours in 2002.
But they have declined in recent years after police launched a new division and major clampdown.
The country will welcome athletes and delegates from across the world to Rio next month when it hosts the Olympic Games.
It comes amid a deepening economic crisis, the worst the country has experienced for decades.
Mr Ecclestone has been married to Ms Flosi since 2012 after meeting the now 38-year-old at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
He divorced his former wife of 25 years, Croatian model Slavica Radic, to be with her and they live in the UK.
He has yet to comment on the reports.
