Bernie and Fabiana Ecclestone in 2017
Grand Prix Photo
Bernie Ecclestone is reported to have been arrested in Brazil for illegally carrying a gun in his luggage as he prepared to board a private plane to Switzerland.
The ex-Formula 1 tycoon accepted that the gun was his and said that he wasn’t aware that it was in his bag, according to Reuters.
He was taken to a police station where he is understood to have paid bail and then been allowed to travel to Switzerland.
Ecclestone, 91, had been in the country with his Brazilian-born wife, Fabiana, who was elected an FIA vice-president last year.
He has previously said that he was shaken by the abduction of his mother-in-law in Sao Paolo six years ago.
Kidnappers demanded a ransom of $36.5m (£28m) for her safe release, but she was freed unharmed after a police operation.
Ecclestone was arrested on Wednesday evening when his luggage was being screened ahead of his flight, according to a police statement quoted by Reuters.
Officers found an undocumented LW Seecamp .32 gun in his luggage and took him to a facility at Viracopos airport, close to Sao Paolo.
Reports from Brazil suggest that Ecclestone paid R$6,060 (£1,000) to be released on bail after police took account of the circumstances and the risks that come with a fortune estimated at £2.5bn in the latest Sunday Times Rich List.
