Six-time Slam champion Boris Becker was sentenced to two and a half years in prison! The German has been accused of hiding millions of pounds in assets to avoid paying his debts.
Becker will have to serve half of his sentence in prison and the other half on probation if he behaves well. Becker earned around £35m, but that money was lost long ago in an expensive divorce from his first wife Barbara and “expensive lifestyle commitments”.
The former World No. 1 and one of tennis’s most recognizable stars filed for bankruptcy in June 2017, when he failed to repay the more than £3 million loan on his property in Mallorca, Spain.
Becker was found guilty on four counts under the bankruptcy law after a jury trial in early April. Boris, a UK resident since 2012, was found guilty of failing to declare a £1.3m property in his home town of Leimen, concealing a £693,000 bank loan and 75,000 shares in a technology.
Boris Becker is sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
However, he was cleared of a further 20 charges, including nine for concealing trophies and medals, including his first Wimbledon trophy from 1985.
Becker appeared at Southwark Assize Court, London, wearing a purple and green striped tie in Wimbledon colours. Becker’s lawyer, Jonathan Laidlaw QC, asked the judge to consider issuing a suspended sentence as the trial had “destroyed his career”.
Becker took out a £3.85m loan from private bank Arbuthnot Latham in 2013 and borrowed £1.2m at 25% interest from billionaire businessman John Caudwell.
The day after his bankruptcy, Becker allegedly wired hundreds of thousands of pounds and made nine secret payments of £350,000 plus £111,000 to two of his former partners.
Born in 1967, Becker became a tennis star in the mid-1980s after winning back-to-back Wimbledon titles at the ages of 17 and 18. Boris entered the top 10 following a sensational win at Wimbledon in 1985, becoming the youngest All England Club winner.
The German was among the best players in the world for more than eight years and was one of the toughest opponents on grass and indoor surfaces. Becker’s last major title came at the 1996 Australian Open, and he finished the season with the Grand Slam Cup title in his hands.
Boris retired to his beloved Wimbledon in 1999, beating Lleyton Hewitt in the third round before losing to Patrick Rafter in straight sets. Becker is a former coach of Novak Djokovic and worked with the Serb between 2013 and 2016.
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