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ECCLESTONE KIDNAP TERROR

Formula One tycoon Bernie Ecclestone’s mother-in-law ‘is held hostage by Brazilian gangsters demanding £28MILLION ransom’

THE mother-in-law of billionaire Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has reportedly been kidnapped in Brazil with gangsters demanding £27.8 million in ransom.

Aparecida Schunc, 67, the mother of the 85-year-old’s glamorous wife Fabiana Flosi, 39, was snatched by a gang of ruthless criminals near her home in São Paulo on Friday, according to Brazilian news magazine Veja.

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Bernie's wife Fabiana, 38, pictured with her 67-year-old mother AparecidaCredit: Instagram
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Fabiana having afternoon tea with her mother AparecidaCredit: Instagram
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Ecclestone, who is the UK's fourth richest man, married Ms Shunck's daughter Fabiana (pictured) in 2012Credit: Getty Images

The criminals are reportedly in contact with the Ecclestone family and are demanding the biggest ransom in Brazilian history.

A source close to the police investigation told Brazilian magazine Veja the criminals have stipulated the ransom money be paid in pounds sterling and split into four plastic bags.

The high profile snatching comes less than two weeks before the start of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

There is heightened security in the country which records hundreds of kidnappings every year.

Ecclestone met Ms Shunck's daughter Fabiana in 2009 in the run-up to the Brazilian Grande Prix in Interlagos, where she was working as marketing director for Brazil's F1.

The couple wed three years later after Ecclestone divorced his wife of 25 years, Croatian model Slavica Radic, to marry the young Brazilian.

The tycoon's divorce settlement with Radic was estimated to be a whopping £594 million which is reportedly the biggest in UK history.

Fabiana and her mother, who continued living in the Interlagos district of São Paulo, have remained in close contact.

In a Facebook post on Mother's Day: "Happy Mother's Day to all mothers, and especially mine. There are no words to thank so much love and dedication. Thank you Mum, I love you."

Formula 1 boss Ecclestone is the UK's fourth richest person with an estimated £3.2billion fortune, and one of the most powerful people in sport.

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Aparecida Schunk (far right) pictured with her daughter and Red Bull Racing boss Christian HornerCredit: Instagram

The Suffolk-born billionaire is the chief executive of Formula One Group which controls the commercial rights of the high profile sport as well managing the administration and logistics of each Grand Prix race.

This is not the first time criminals have targeted the business magnate’s vast fortune.

In 2010, Ecclestone was beaten and robbed outside his central London offices with thieves making off with £200,000 worth of jewellery.

Two years later, a former security expert Martin Peckham, 41, was jailed after demanding £200,000 claiming he knew of a plot to kidnap the F1 supremo’s daughter Tamara Ecclestone.

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Bernie and wife Fabiana attending the world premiere of Formula One movie Rush in 2013 at Odeon Leicester SquareCredit: Getty Images - WireImage


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