SERVING TIME
Boris Becker is jailed for 2.5 years after Wimbledon champ hid his millions after 2017 bankruptcy
TENNIS star Boris Becker has been JAILED for two and a half years after hiding millions of pounds when he went bankrupt in 2017.
The three-time Wimbledon winner and BBC pundit, 54, was found guilty of flouting insolvency rules by concealing more than £2.5million in cash, shares and property.
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Wearing a green-and-purple Wimbledon tie with a grey suit and black Puma trainers, Becker looked tired and forlorn as he was led down to the cells at London’s Southwark Crown Court this afternoon.
Jailing him, Judge Deborah Taylor said: "The obligation was on you to disclose these assets but you did not.
"I take into account your fall from grace. You’ve lost your career, reputation and all your properties.
"However, you have shown no remorse.
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"While I accept the humiliation you may have felt as a result of these proceedings, there has been no humility."
She jailed Becker for two years and six months for removal of property, plus 18 months each for three other charges of failing to disclose assets, to run concurrently.
He will serve half his sentence, around 15 months.
Becker clutched a Puma duffle bag packed with clothes and belongings for his time behind bars and spoke only to confirm his name during his sentencing hearing yesterday.
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Appealing for a lenient sentence this afternoon, his lawyer Jonathan Laidlaw, QC said the ex-tennis pro has "literally nothing".
He told Southwark crown court: "Boris Becker has literally nothing and there is nothing to show for what was the most glittering of sporting careers.
"It is nothing short of a tragedy. His fall is not simply a fall from grace, it is the public humiliation of this man.
"It is a level that no other bankrupt in this country is ever likely to face.
GRAND SLAMMER
"These proceedings have destroyed his career and totally ended any prospect of earning an income.
"His reputation is in tatters. He will have to rely on the charity of others."
Prosecutor Rebecca Chalkley said Becker “moved money and property quickly before it could be disclosed or discovered” after he was declared bankrupt.
She said: "He transferred money to various third parties to deprive his official trustees and creditors.
"The jury decided his actions were deliberate and dishonest."
Items Boris Becker failed to declare when he went bankrupt in 2017
The former world number one was declared bankrupt on June 21 2017 over an unpaid loan. He was then accused of moving "money and property quickly", including:
- Money transfers - £390,000 from his business account to others, including those of his ex-wife Barbara Becker and estranged wife Sharlely 'Lilly' Becker;
- Property - Share in a £1million property in his home town of Leimen, Germany;
- Bank loan - Bank loan of almost £700,000 - worth £1.1million with interest;
- Shares - His 75,000 shares in a tech firm - which were estimated to be worth £66,000.
The former world number one was declared bankrupt on June 21 2017 over an unpaid loan of more than £3million on his estate in Majorca, Spain.
He claimed he had cooperated with trustees tasked with securing his assets, even offering up his wedding ring, and said he had acted on expert advice.
But earlier this month, the German national - who was supported throughout the trial by his partner Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro - was found guilty of four charges under the Insolvency Act.
Charges included the removal of property, two counts of failing to disclose estate and concealing debt.
Overall, he sought to keep £2m away from his creditors, it was heard.
Becker told the court his £38m career earnings were swallowed up by a pricey divorce from his first wife Barbara Becker.
This was combined with child maintenance payments and "expensive lifestyle commitments".
However, jurors found he'd transferred hundreds of thousands of pounds from his business account and failed to declare a property in his home town of Leimen, Germany.
It is nothing short of a tragedy. His fall is not simply a fall from grace, it is the public humiliation of this man.
Becker's lawyer Jonathan Laidlaw, QC
BBC commentator Becker was also convicted of hiding an 825,000 euro (almost £700,000) bank loan and 75,000 shares in a tech firm.
The Insolvency Service has confirmed Becker is still an undischarged bankrupt and will stay that way until October 2031.
He has a previous conviction for tax evasion and attempted tax evasion in Germany in 2002.
Aged just 17, Becker burst onto the scene in 1985 when he became Wimbledon's youngest singles champion and the first unseeded player to lift the trophy at the All England Club.
Becker's dynamic play and boyish enthusiasm -- best captured in his penchant for spectacular diving volleys -- made him the darling of Wimbledon crowds.
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He successfully defended his Wimbledon title a year later, thrashing world number one Ivan Lendl in straight sets in the final.
Becker's ferocious serve led to the nickname 'Baby Boom Boom' and 'Der Bomber'.
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