Tennis Legend Boris Becker could face 7 years jail for concealing assets from insolvency
The former Tennis pro champion was sentenced earlier this month of four charges under the bankruptcy Act.
Boris Becker is facing a jail sentence for suppressing hundreds of thousands of pounds of assets after he was proclaimed bankrupt.
The 3-time Wimbledon winner found himself stranded financially in June 2017 after his £38 million tennis earnings were eaten up by a costly divorce, child upkeep, and his extravagant lifestyle.
Faced with calls to hand over his assets, Becker hid his stake in real estate in Germany as well as shares in a tech firm, and moved £360,000 (€426,930) to others including his ex-wife Barbara and his separated wife Sharlely “Lilly” Becker.
Jurors at Southwark crown court acquitted Becker of a further twenty charges, including accusations that he had concealed his trophy collection from liquidation officials. But he still faces the possibility of a prison term as he faces the decision by Judge Deborah Taylor, the Recorder of Westminster.
Becker, who has lived in the United Kingdom since 2012, was pronounced bankrupt after his failure to pay on a £3 million bank loan for repairs to his extensive estate in Mallorca.
A High Court judge declined the request to grant extra time to allow Becker to try to pass on the debt, leaving the tennis ace under strict constraints on his monetary affairs.
He was also sentenced in 2002 in Germany of tax evasion and attempted tax evasion after an probe into his time spent residing in Monte Carlo and his native Germany.
Evidence was submitted of his expenditure at Harrods and Ralph Lauren while bankruptcy was imminent, while he also shelled out €48,000 for an ankle surgery at a private clinic, €12,500 to a private jet company, and a €6,000 luxury golf resort holiday in China.
In his defence Becker said he had relied on consultants to help him with legal papers, and insisted he had not read papers spelling out his obligations to the bankruptcy proceedings.
Becker faces his sentencing hearing soon and if the judge is not lenient then the charges he has been convicted carry a maximum seven year prison term.
