Boris Becker sentenced to prison for bankruptcy charges

Boris Becker (right with mother) (Sven Mandel, Wikimedia Commons)

Tennis legend Boris Becker of Leimen, Germany has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison over bankruptcy charges at a British court according to CNN on Friday. Becker, who is 54 years old, was found guilty of four offenses connected to his bankruptcy. They include “failing to disclose, concealing, and removing” significant assets.

Becker, who initially declared bankruptcy in June of 2017, was accused of hiding 4.5 million euros worth of assets and transactions according to Lamiat Sabin of the Indian Economic Times. One of the assets happens to be the Wimbledon Trophy he won in 1985.

British judge Deborah Taylor scolded Becker during the sentencing for his lack of remorse. She stated “there has been no humility.”

Becker has a history of tax evasion dating back to the 1990s in Germany. From 1991 to 1993 Becker was accused of living primarily in Munich, when his official residence was Monaco according to Petra Philippsen of tagesspiegel.de.  

In his tennis career, Becker won six grand slam singles titles. They were at Wimbledon (1985, 1986, 1989), the Australian Open (1991, 1996), and the United States Open (1989). Of Becker’s six titles the most famous one came in 1985. There, he became the first unseeded player and the first German to ever win Wimbledon. In the final, Becker beat Kevin Curren of the United States, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4.

After Becker’s playing career which ended in 1999, he went on to coach current world number one Novak Djokovic of Belgrade, Serbia. From 2014 to 2016, Djokovic won all four majors at least once, including the Australian Open twice.

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