Boris Becker has been accused of hiding trophies and medals won during his illustrious tennis career, including two of his three Wimbledon singles wins from bankruptcy administrators.
Becker, who appeared at Southwark Crown Court in London on Thursday and has already faced 19 charges of non-compliance with legal information disclosure obligations, has been charged with nine other charges alleging that he hid some of the spoils from his playing career to do so to avoid being sold to pay off debts.
One of the new allegations relates to his 1985 All England Club trophy, when he became the youngest single Wimbledon champion at the age of 17 years and seven months, catapulting him to worldwide fame.
The 52-year-old German, who was declared bankrupt in June 2017, came to court wearing a black face mask with the Stronger Together logo, a gray suit and a blue and white striped tie. He only spoke to confirm his name, refuse all 28 counts, and to confirm that he would face an arrest if he did not show up for the trial scheduled for September 13 next year.
The other prizes he is accused of covering up are the 1985 and 1989 President’s Cup, a 1988 Davis Cup gold coin and a 1989 Davis Cup trophy, the 1989 Wimbledon trophy, the 1991 and Australian Open trophies 1996 and an Olympic gold medal from 1992.
In the indictment, Becker is accused of hiding property from bankruptcy administrators by, among other things, transferring funds to a number of people, including a total of € 44,372.90 (£ 40,000) for two separate transactions to his ex-wife Barbara Becker in the year 2017. The couple divorced in 2001.
He is also accused – again in two separate transactions – of having transferred a total of € 105,497 to his now estranged wife Sharlely Becker in 2017. The couple separated in 2018.
Becker was accused last year of hiding assets like an apartment in Chelsea and £ 1.2 million in cash from bankruptcy administrators. This could result in a seven-year prison sentence.
At a hearing in Westminster Magistrates Court last September, the court heard that he owned an apartment on Coleherne Court in Chelsea, west London, as well as two properties in Germany that were undeclared between June and October 2017. He also hid debts.The court was told that it had £ 754,190 and a bank account of £ 1.2 million and 75,000 shares in the artificial intelligence company Breaking Data Corp.
The 19 pre-existing counts consist of seven property concealment charges, four counts for failure to provide bank statements at JP Morgan Belgium and Julius Baer Guernsey, two counts for removal of property which are required by the recipient to be five counts for failure to disclose details Estate and a Debt Concealment Count.
Becker was the first German champion of the Wimbledon men’s singles and the first winner without seeds.
The former world champion No. 1 and six-time Grand Slam champion collected 49 individual titles from 77 finals in his 16 years as a professional.
He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2003 and is a regular expert and commentator on the BBC. From 2013 to 2016, he also coached the world’s number 1 current men, Novak Djokovic – a time when six Grand Slam titles were won.
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