Becker jailed for hiding assets
Boris Becker faces the prospect of never working again after being jailed for 21⁄2 years on Friday, local time.
The three-times Wimbledon champion and BBC commentator was criticised for showing no remorse as he was sentenced for concealing £2.5 million (NZ$4.8m) of assets to avoid paying debts.
Becker, 54, continued with his lavish lifestyle and carried on spending despite spiralling into £50m of debt, the court was told.
He was found guilty of spending £390,000 after his bankruptcy, including giving £28,000 to his former wife, Barbara, 55, and a further £83,000 to his estranged second wife, Lilly, 45. None of the money has been recovered.
He was jailed for 30 months for the offence and received concurrent sentences of 18 months for three charges of failing to disclose property. These include a £1.3 million German home, a £692,000 bank loan on the house and £66,000 of shares in an artificial intelligence company.
The jury cleared him of all other charges, including failing to hand over nine tennis trophies, such as those won at the 1985 and 1989 Wimbledon championships, the 1991 and 1996 Australian Open and the 1992 Olympics.
Becker was red faced as the sentence was read out at Southwark crown court. His girlfriend, Lilian De Carvalho Monteiro, blew him a kiss as he was led away. Judge Deborah Taylor refused Becker’s pleas for a suspended sentence.
Becker wore his Wimbledon tie to court but he now faces being stripped of his membership of the All England Club. Its board will discuss the status of his honorary membership, which was given to him at the age of 17 in 1985 after he became the youngest man to win the men’s singles title.
The 13-member board is led by the chairman Ian Hewitt, and includes the former players Tim Henman and Anne Keothavong. There is thought to be no precedent involving a star member in the modern era.
Becker’s membership entitled him to use the leisure facilities at the club, including the tennis courts. In recent years, however, he rarely played because of an ankle problem.
Becker tried to avoid bankruptcy by claiming he was entitled to diplomatic immunity because the Central African Republic appointed him as a sport and culture attache to the European Union in 2018.
The republic’s foreign minister described the diplomatic passport as fake and Becker dropped the defence.
In court he recalled the shock at being declared bankrupt in 2017, days before the start of the championship. ‘‘I was all over world news, and I walked through the gate of Wimbledon and everyone knew,’’ he said. ‘‘I was embarrassed because I was bankrupt.’’
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