Boris Becker, a former tennis champion, went on trial in London on Monday. The trial is for allegedly hiding assets from bankruptcy. It encompassed nine trophies and avoided his need to provide financial information to settle his obligations. Boris Becker is facing charges for stealing $1.25 million from the sale of a Mercedes dealership he owned in Germany. There is another charge against him for concealing an 825,000-euro bank loan and failing to declare two German homes.
Prosecutors said Becker, 54, “acted dishonestly” when he hid or failed to hand over assets before and after he was declared bankrupt in June 2017. He is on trial charged with 24 counts under insolvency laws. Prosecutor Rebecca Chalkley said the assets include trophies such as the 1985 and 1989 Wimbledon men’s singles title, his Australian Open trophies from 1991 and 1996, and his 1992 Olympic gold medal.
Boris Becker has denied all charges
“It is the prosecution case that in various ways he effectively hid from, or made unavailable to, those responsible for identifying the assets,” Chaulkley said. “The prosecution says Mr. Becker did this both before and after the date of his bankruptcy agreement by not disclosing, not providing, or delivering up, or removing assets or things of value.”
Becker is on bail. However, he has denied all charges. Becker sat in the dock with a German interpreter on Monday. During his 16 years as a professional tennis player, the former world No. 1 and six-time Grand Slam champion won 49 singles titles in 77 finals. However, the trial is going to last long. Probably for years.
