Former tennis champion went on trial Monday in London for allegedly concealing property from bankruptcy trustees and dodging his obligation to disclose financial information to settle his debts.
Former Wimbledon tennis champion Boris Becker looks back as he waits in a queue to get into Southwark Crown Court in London, on Monday. AP
Who is Boris Becker?
Becker came into the limelight when he became Wimbledon’s youngest men’s singles champion in 1985 and also repeated the feat the following year.
Nicknamed “Boom, Boom” Becker for his ferocious serve, the German won Wimbledon for a third time in 1989.
He also won the Australian Open twice and the US Open, becoming the top-ranked player in the world in 1991.
Becker became a television commentator after his retirement, with a high-profile role on the BBC.
He returned to the court in 2013 as the coach of Novak Djokovic and helped the Serb win six more Grand Slam trophies before the pair parted ways in 2016.
He also made headlines for his tangled private life since he retired from playing — including a daughter conceived in a brief but now famous encounter with a Russian model at a London restaurant.
Why is the former tennis star in the news?
Becker faces trial over bankruptcy charges, after being declared bankrupt in 2017. The 54-year-old German was declared bankrupt after borrowing around $4.6 million from private bank Arbuthnot Latham for a property in Mallorca, Spain.
As a result, Becker has been accused of failing to hand over assets in order to settle his debts.
The six-time Grand Slam champion is alleged to have failed to hand over assets, including the 1985 Wimbledon trophy, which catapulted him to stardom as an unknown 17-year-old, as well as his two Australian Open trophies.
In addition, Becker is accused of concealing several pieces of property and $2.3 million, in addition to transferring hundreds of thousands to other accounts, including his estranged wife, Lilly, and his ex-wife, Barbara, according to a NY Post report.
However, Becker, who is on bail, has denied all charges.
The former world number one is facing a three-week trial on an indictment of more than 20 counts at the court, where he will be helped by a German translator.
What was the court told?
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.
“It is the prosecution case … that in various ways he effectively hid from, or made unavailable to, those responsible for identifying the assets,” said prosecutor Rebecca Chalkley.
“The prosecution say 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.”
His brush with the law in the past
In 2002, a court in Munich sentenced Becker to a two-year suspended prison sentence and a fine of 300,000 euros ($330,000) for tax evasion of around 1.7 million euros.
What happens if he’s found guilty?
If found guilty, Becker faces a maximum of seven years in prison, added the NY Post report.
The trial, which is expected to last three weeks, is taking place in London — the city that Becker currently resides.
With inputs from Agencies
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