Bernie Ecclestone’s mother-in-law rescued from kidnappers in Brazil

Aparecida Schunck was taken more than a week ago and held on a £28m ransom

Bernie Ecclestone and his wife Fabiana Flosi, whose mother was kidnapped from her home in Brazil (Getty)

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone’s mother-in-law has been rescued after being abducted by kidnappers in Brazil more than a week ago.

Aparecida Schunck, 67, the mother of Mr Ecclestone’s wife Fabiana Flosi, 38, was taken from her home in Sao Paolo and held on a ransom of £28m 10 days ago.

She was rescued from two men on the outskirts of the city on Sunday by Sao Paulo’s anti-kidnapping division and was not harmed in the operation, Brazilian police said.

According to Brazilian magazine Veja, the kidnappers had demanded Ms Schunck’s ransom was paid in pounds sterling and divided into four bags of cash.

Elisabete Sato of Sao Paulo police told the BBC the £28m ransom, thought to have been the largest in Brazilian history, had not been paid.

She added there had been a major police operation to rescue Ms Schunck and that two suspects had been arrested.

Investigators managed to discover Ms Schunck’s location after monitoring phone calls between her kidnappers and her family, tracing her location to a farmhouse near Sao Paulo.

Mr Ecclestone, 85, who is reportedly worth £3.8bn, married Ms Flosi in 2012, three years after meeting her at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Brazil is hosting this year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro which start on Friday. Security has emerged as the top concern, including violence possibly spilling over from Rio's hundreds of slums.

Authorities have said they will be prepared and that some 85,000 police and soldiers will be patrolling during the games.

Additional reporting by Press Association