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Brazilian Police Say They've Rescued Mother-In-Law Of Formula 1 Boss

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone walks with his wife, Fabiana Flosi, in Singapore in 2014. Flosi's mother was kidnapped in Brazil and held for ransom last month; she's now been freed, police say.
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Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone walks with his wife, Fabiana Flosi, in Singapore in 2014. Flosi's mother was kidnapped in Brazil and held for ransom last month; she's now been freed, police say.

The mother-in-law of billionaire Bernie Ecclestone, who heads the Formula One racing franchise, has been rescued from kidnappers, according to Brazilian police.

Aparecida Schunck, the mother of Fabiana Flosi, was unharmed in the operation, The Associated Press reports.

She had been held for more than a week. Two men reportedly were arrested.

Her ransom was said to be more than $36 million, according to Reuters, which cited Brazilian media.

As the Two-Way reported last week, Ecclestone is one of the richest men in Britain:

"Ecclestone, 85, is listed by Forbes as controlling family wealth of more than $3 billion; he met his wife, Fabiana Flosi, at the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2009 and married her in 2012, according to the BBC. Ecclestone is divorced from Slavica Radic, with whom he has two children."

The kidnapping in Sao Paulo came as the eyes of the world turn to Brazil for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Some events will be held in Sao Paulo.

Kidnapping for ransom used to be a frequent occurrence in Brazil, Reuters reports, but has become much less common recently.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Camila Flamiano Domonoske covers cars, energy and the future of mobility for NPR's Business Desk.