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Random helmet champion Boris Becker has been in prison for two and a half years after hiding assets and debts worth more than 2.5 million British pounds after being declared bankrupt.
The three-time Wimbledon winner, 54, deliberately transferred money to his family and staff when he ran out of money in June 2017, successfully saving £ 390,000 (€ 426,930) and bank loan proceeds of € 1.1 million. British pounds from its creditors.
Becker, the former number one in the world, also failed to declare ownership of a German property worth 1 million British pounds and shares worth 75,000 British pounds, which he owns in a technology company.
Tennis went bankrupt after his £ 38 million sporting fortune was engulfed in costly divorce, child support and the cost of pursuing a luxurious lifestyle.
He told the Crown Court in Southwark that Brand Becker had been damaged by a series of scandals and negative press interest, damaging his ability to make money from sponsorship and professionals.
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Boris Becker – In pictures
Wimbledon 1994
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Wimbledon 1985
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Former tennis player Boris Becker arrives with his partner Lillian de Carvalho Monteiro at Southwark Crown Court for his bankruptcy case in London
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Boris Becker with his son Noah
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Anna Ermakova
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Boris Becker with Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2018
AP
Lillian de Carvalho and Boris Becker
Dave Bennett
Boris Becker (2nd R), his wife Barbara (C) and his mother Elvira (2nd L) stand by the grave of Becker’s father Karl-Heinz in Leimen
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Barbara Becker, estranged wife of former German tennis player Boris Becker and their son Noah
AFP
Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in 1995
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Ukrainian boxers Vitaliy (left) and Vladimir Klitschko (right) take pictures of the great German tennis player Boris Becker during a sports party organized by the Laureus Golf Trophy at the Oktoberfest in Munich at the end of September 21, 2003.
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Boris Becker in 2004
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The captain of the German team Boris Becker spoke with Alexander Zverev in 2020
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He was convicted by a jury on four charges under the Bankruptcy Act and was jailed on Friday by the Westminster Registry, Judge Deborah Taylor.
She said Becker was “in chaos” when the bankruptcy order was imposed, but said Becker had shown no remorse.
“I accept the humiliation you may have experienced, but there was no humility,” the judge said.
She said Becker used his advisers “as a shield” and showed “little or no interest in getting involved” in the insolvency proceedings.
Becker’s lawyer, Jonathan Leidlow, QC, urged the judge not to send him to jail, claiming the German was devastated and may never work again.
“Boris Becker literally has nothing and nothing to show for what was the most brilliant of his sports careers. “It’s called nothing but tragedy,” he said.
“His fall is not simply a fall from grace and represents the most public humiliation of this man.
“The degree of suffering – and it will continue – is a punishment that no other bankrupt in this country will probably ever experience.
He added: “This process has completely ruined his career and eliminated any future prospect of him earning income. His reputation, an essential part of the brand that gives him a job, has been shattered.
“He will not be able to find a job and will have to rely on the charity of others if he wants to survive.”
Prosecutor Rebecca Chackley said Becker deliberately hid his assets and debts when he knew they had to be offered for bankruptcy.
“He deliberately and dishonestly removed the money and transferred it to various third parties, with the intention of withdrawing money from the property and as a result away from the recovery and their creditors,” she said.
She accused Becker of “playing the bad faith system”, urging the judge to issue a restraining order.
“The bankrupt has a built-in advantage, as the details of his cases are better known by him than by the official trustee or trustees. The process only works if they are honest and reveal complete information. “
The court heard that there were claims for 49.1 million British pounds from creditors in the bankruptcy of Becker, but so far only 3.1 million British pounds have been recovered.
Becker, wearing a Wimbledon tie, arrived in court in a black taxi with partner Lillian de Carvalho Monteiro for today’s sentencing hearing.
Son Noah brought his father’s Puma bag to court at the beginning of the hearing.
Mr Leidlow called on the judge to take a “fairer view of the evidence”, saying the missing money had been used by Becker to cover “business and household expenses”. He transferred money to support his ex-wives, arranged a medical bill from a Swiss clinic and paid a Spanish lawyer who was dealing with a property deal.
“The vast majority was for legal fees or legitimate personal commitments,” he said. “There is no evidence that money can be used to maintain a more luxurious lifestyle.”
Mr Leidlow added: “He was in desperate financial difficulties – what he did was essentially make his own choice of which creditors to pay, instead of allowing the joint trustees to determine how that money should be applied.” .
Becker, a BBC commentator who has lived in the UK since 2012, has been declared bankrupt after failing to repay a £ 3m bank loan to renovate his extensive Mallorca mansion.
Three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker (Pennsylvania)
PA Archive
A Supreme Court judge refused to allow an additional extension to allow Becker to try to transfer the debt, leaving the tennis ace under severe restrictions on his financial affairs.
The test revealed details of Becker’s career after his athletic retirement, when he developed a role as an expert and commentator, as well as approving various products.
He told the jury that Brand Becker had been harmed by a series of public revelations about his personal life, including the brutal breakup of his marriage to Barbara and a multi-million pound divorce agreement.
Becker became the father of a daughter in a disgracefully brief meeting with waitress Angela Ermakova at London’s Nobu restaurant in 1999 and was involved in child support, including a £ 2.5 million apartment in Chelsea.
Evidence was provided of his expenses at Harrods and Ralph Lauren during bankruptcy, while he also paid € 48,000 for ankle surgery at a private clinic, € 12,500 for a private airline company and € 6,000 for a stay at a luxury golf resort. in China.
Investigators searched Becker’s property portfolio, including his mother’s home in Leimen, Germany, and his daughter’s home in Chelsea, and searched unsuccessfully for his collection of trophies, including two of his three Wimbledon men’s singles trophies, including the title from 1985, which catapulted him to the star of age. 17, a 1992 Olympic gold medal, the 1991 and 1996 Australian Open trophies, the 1985 and 1989 President’s Cups, his 1989 Davis Cup trophy and the Davis Cup gold coin he won. in 1988
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Becker testified during the trial, describing the “shock” and “inconvenience” when the bankruptcy came, and insisted he was honest and forthright with investigators.
He said he was the coach of world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic, commented on various TV channels and represented brands such as Puma. But his income “dropped dramatically” after his retirement from tennis.
Becker said he relied on advisers to help him with legal documents, and insisted he had not read documents outlining his commitments to the insolvency proceedings.
He was acquitted of 20 charges in the trial, including charges of deliberately concealing his trophies. But he was convicted on four charges, including intentional dishonesty.
Following the declaration of bankruptcy, Becker transferred money to a series of people, including his ex-wife Barbara and his estranged wife Lily. He did not declare a loan he had taken out, concealed his ownership of the German property, and also hid shares in the technology company Breaking Data Corp.
In 2002, he was convicted in Germany of tax evasion and attempted tax evasion following an investigation into his time in Monte Carlo and his native Germany.
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