Four weeks ago, a London court convicted Boris Becker of delaying bankruptcy. Now the sentence has also been set: The tennis icon has to go to prison for two years and six months.
Former tennis star Boris Becker has to go to prison. A court in London sentenced the three-time Wimbledon champion to two and a half years in prison, of which he must serve at least half.
The former exceptional athlete had not disclosed assets worth more than one million euros in his insolvency proceedings. A jury found Becker guilty of several charges three weeks ago. The 54-year-old had denied the allegations. He can appeal against the judgment.
Becker veiled possessions
The lay judges at London’s Southwark Crown Court had found that Becker had concealed ownership of a property in his hometown of Leimen, illegally transferred large sums to other accounts and concealed shares in an artificial intelligence company and a loan debt.
Boris Becker (left) with his girlfriend Lilian. Both had entered the courthouse shortly before 1 p.m. on Friday. (Source: John Sibley/Reuters)
The public prosecutor had raised a total of 24 charges against Becker. Prosecutor Rebecca Chalkley found it proven that he had deliberately concealed numerous possessions and was now blaming his advisers, who he said had handled his finances. The tennis legend’s defense attorney said his client was naive but innocent. The jury followed this line of argument in 20 points, including when it came to the question of missing trophies. But the guilty verdict on four counts is enough to fundamentally change Becker’s life.
Massive financial problems
Becker, who lives in London, was declared bankrupt in 2017. He then had to disclose his assets to the insolvency administrators – but according to the court, he left out important parts.
The three-time Wimbledon winner had collected around 25 million US dollars in prize money during his career and, according to his own estimates, earned around the same amount from advertising. However, he ran into financial problems. Becker blamed the expensive divorce from ex-wife Barbara and high maintenance costs for daughter Anna Ermakowa in court.
Among other things, Becker comments on tennis tournaments for the BBC and is very popular with the British. His partner Lilian De Carvalho Monteiro accompanied him to court every day, most recently his eldest son Noah was also at his side. The two were also there on Friday.