NewsCourt Convicts Boris Becker For Hiding Details Of Insolvency

Court Convicts Boris Becker For Hiding Details Of Insolvency

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April 29, (THEWILL) – Ex-professional tennis player Boris Becker was, on Friday, sentenced to two and a half years in prison after a British court found him guilty of crimes related to his 2017 bankruptcy.

The six-time Grand Slam champion will serve half of his sentence after being found guilty of transferring large sums of money from his business account at Southwark Crown Court in London.

He also convicted for neglecting to declare a house in Germany and kept €825,000 euros (about $866,500) in debt and shares in a technology company hidden from the authorities.

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However, the 54-year-old was acquitted of a total of 20 charges earlier this month, including nine counts of neglecting to return trophies and medals he won throughout his illustrious tennis career.

Becker admitted to the jury that he had no idea where the memorabilia, which included two of his three Wimbledon men’s singles titles, had gone.

Becker, who won Wimbledon as an unseeded teenager, was released on conditional bail by Judge Deborah Taylor ahead of her sentence decision on Friday.

He appeared early for the hearing, dressed in a Wimbledon-themed striped purple and green tie, a white shirt, and a charcoal grey suit.

As he stepped into court with his partner Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro, he was greeted by a swarm of reporters and cameras.

A pricey divorce from his first wife Barbara Becker, child maintenance payments, and “expensive lifestyle commitments” ate away the former world number one’s $50 million (40 million pounds) career earnings, according to his testimony to the jury.

When Becker was declared bankrupt in June 2017 over an unpaid loan of more than $3 million on his estate in Mallorca, Spain, he stated he was “shocked” and “embarrassed”

The German, who has resided in the United Kingdom since 2012, claimed he worked with trustees to preserve his assets, even offering his wedding ring, and relied on experts to handle his life outside of tennis.

However, the former star, who was backed up in court by his partner and eldest son Noah, was found guilty of four insolvency offences.

Becker said that he earned a “vast amount” of money during his time and that he paid cash for multiple residences.

However, following his retirement in 1999, the German, who went on to train current world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic, work as a TV sports commentator, and serve as a brand ambassador for companies such as Puma, stated his income “reduced dramatically”

Becker, who lived in Monte Carlo and Switzerland before migrating to the UK, said his financial obligations included a rented residence in Wimbledon, south-west London, that cost him £22,000 per month.

He also owed the Swiss authorities five million francs ($5.1 million) and a separate liability of just under one million euros stemming from a conviction in Germany for tax evasion and attempted tax evasion in 2002.

He said that negative press had harmed his “brand Becker” causing him to struggle to pay off his debts.

THEWILL recalls that Becker, who had a crop of strawberry-blond hair, shocked the tennis world when he won Wimbledon as the youngest men’s singles title champion at the age of 17 in 1985, and repeated the feat the following year.

For his vicious serve, Becker earned the nickname “Boom Boom” and won Wimbledon for the third time in 1989.

During his illustrious career, he won the Australian Open twice and the US Open once, rising to the top of the global rankings in 1991.

After retiring, Becker went into commentary, obtaining a high-profile job with the BBC, but he returned to the court in 2013 to coach Djokovic, guiding the Serb to six more Grand Slam titles until 2016, when the pair parted ways.

About the Author

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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

Jude Obafemi, THEWILLhttps://thewillnews.com
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

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