Boris Becker has to go to prison. The former tennis star has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for his bankruptcy crimes, of which he must serve at least half. Judge Deborah Taylor made the announcement in London on Friday afternoon. The former exceptional athlete had not disclosed assets worth more than one million euros in his insolvency proceedings.
In view of the rush, the morning session had been moved to a larger room. The British press was also interested in the case. A jury at Southwark Crown Court found Becker guilty on four out of 24 counts on April 8.
After he was declared insolvent by a court in 2017, the former tennis professional had to disclose his assets to the insolvency administrators – but according to the jury he left out important parts. Three weeks ago, the lay judges saw it as proven that the 54-year-old had, among other things, concealed a property in his hometown of Leimen and illegally transferred large sums to other accounts.
Becker’s defense had asked for clemency
First of all, the representative of the prosecution and Becker’s defense had the floor again on Friday. Prosecutor Rebecca Chalkley did not name a sentence, but made it clear that she did not believe that a suspended sentence was sufficient. The fact that he had transferred large sums of money the day after the court-ordered bankruptcy was similar to money laundering.
Becker’s attorney Jonathan Laidlaw asked for clemency and advocated a suspended sentence of no more than two years. The transfers were payments to his ex-wife Barbara and his wife Lilly and his children, who were dependent on him. Laidlaw acknowledged that Becker broke the law, but said it wasn’t a serious case.
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.
The 54-year-old can now appeal the verdict
Becker himself had always rejected all allegations. His defense attorney had presented him in court as 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 was enough to fundamentally change Becker’s life.
The exceptional athlete came to court on Friday, accompanied by his partner Lilian De Carvalho Monteiro and his eldest son Noah, who was carrying a packed travel bag. The three-time Wimbledon champion’s tie glowed with the tournament’s colors of green and purple. The 54-year-old can now appeal the verdict.
The President of the German Tennis Association (DTB), Dietloff von Arnim, announced his loyalty to Becker before the sentence was announced on Friday. Arnim said on Friday on the sidelines of the clay court tournament in Munich that he had “undeniably celebrated outstanding successes” for German tennis. “We stand there, I would say, loyal to our tennis icon.”