On Friday, a London court found Boris Becker guilty of four charges relating to his bankruptcy in 2017. He could be jailed for that. 54-year-old German has hidden a lot of money, including two Wimbledon trophies, to avoid paying his debts.
Becker, who has lived in Britain since 2012, said that he had helped trustees get his assets, even giving them his wedding ring. He also trusted the advisers who looked after his life when he wasn’t playing tennis.
Even though Southwark Crown Court found him guilty of taking property, two counts of not telling the truth about his estate, and hiding debt, they found him not guilty on 20 other charges.
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As part of his bail, the six-time Grand Slam singles champion was allowed to go to the same court on April 29 for his sentencing, where he could get up to seven years in jail.
When Becker was declared bankrupt on June 21, 2017, over an unpaid loan of more than £3 million ($3.9 million), he said he was “shocked” and “embarrassed.” He was backed in court by his partner Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro and oldest son Noah, who were also there.
People in the court heard that Becker got 1.13 million euros (about £950,000) when he sold a Mercedes car dealership in Germany. The money was paid into a business account that he used as his “piggy bank.”
If you transfer money from one account to another, you’re breaking the law. This includes cash from your ex-wife and your ex-ex-wife, wife, and cash from your fourth child’s fourth mother.
Becker was also found guilty of failing to report home in Germany and hiding a loan of 825,000 euros from a bank and shares in a tech company.
In 1985, Becker became the youngest winner of the men’s singles title at the grass-court Grand Slam when he was just 17 years old. He told the jury that he didn’t know where his first Wimbledon trophy was.
A powerful serve and volley game helped him win two more Wimbledon titles in 1986 and 1989, two Australian Opens in 1991 and 1996, and a US Open title in 1989.
He also won the 1992 Olympic men’s doubles gold medal with Michael Stich. During a career that saw him win 49 singles titles, he also won the gold medal with Stich.
In his career, Becker said he earned a “vast amount.” The court heard that he won some $50 million in prize money and sponsorship deals during his time in the sport.
Then Novak Djokovic became the world’s number one male tennis player, and Becker became a BBC tennis commentator. After he retired in 1999, he said that his income “dropped dramatically.”
He said he had to pay a lot of money to his ex-wife, Barbara Becker, for their two sons when they split up in 2001.
