Tennis legend Boris Becker has been in prison for two and a half years

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The six-time Grand Slam champion has been found guilty of embezzling assets in bankruptcy

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National postal services

Bang Showbiz

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April 29, 2022 • 15 hours ago • 1 minute reading • 10 comments Boris Becker is shown in a photo from the 2016 file at Wimbledon, center, when he was the coach of Serbian Novak Djokovic Photo from REUTERS / Paul Child

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Boris Becker has been in prison for two and a half years for concealing property after his bankruptcy.

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The 54-year-old tennis legend was found guilty of four charges under the Bankruptcy Act by a jury at Southwark Crown Court earlier this month and was sentenced to two years and six months in prison in the same court on Friday.

Becker’s lawyer, Jonathan Leidlow, claims that the six-time Grand Slam champion has already “lost literally everything” in an application for a suspended sentence.

However, Judge Deborah Taylor said Becker “did not show humility” during the proceedings despite the humiliation he may have experienced.

The German sports star will serve half of his sentence before being considered released, Judge Taylor said.

Becker has been accused of embezzling millions of pounds, including two of his Wimbledon trophies, to avoid paying off his debts.

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The star, who has lived in the UK for the past decade, described being “shocked” and “embarrassed” after being declared bankrupt in 2017 over an unpaid loan of more than £ 3 million – $ 4.8 million – in his mansion on the Spanish island of Mallorca.

Becker claims that he remained in financial difficulties after a costly divorce from his first wife Barbara Becker, which he said cost him about 38 million British pounds from his career income.

But the court heard he received about 1.13 million euros (950,000 British pounds) from the sale of a Mercedes dealer he owned in Germany, which were paid into a business account described as a “piggy bank” used for personal expenses.

The BBC tennis expert also transferred hundreds of thousands of pounds to other accounts, including his ex-wife Barbara and estranged wife Charlie “Lily” Becker and prosecutor Rebecca Chackley told jurors that Becker had given insolvency officers a “detour”.