Bankruptcy: Tennis Legend, Boris Becker Jailed

Legendary lawn tennis player, Boris Becker, has been jailed for two and a half years.

The former Wimbledon champion was slammed in jail for hiding £2.5m worth of assets and loans to avoid paying debts.

54-year-old Becker was found guilty of four charges under the Insolvency Act.

Becker had declared bankruptcy in June 2017 resulting from an unpaid loan of more than £3m on his luxury estate in Mallorca, Spain.

Judge Deborah Taylor who ruled on the issue said he had shown no remorse or acceptance of guilt.

Referring to Becker’s previous conviction for tax evasion in Germany in 2002, she told the former world number one: “You did not heed the warning you were given and the chance you were given by the suspended sentence and that is a significant aggravating factor…

“You have… sought to distance yourself from your offending and your bankruptcy.

“While I accept your humiliation as part of the proceedings, there has been no humility.”

Legally, Becker was supposed to disclose all of his assets so that his trustee could distribute available funds to his creditors, to whom he owed nearly £50m when he was declared bankrupt.  However, he failed to disclose his estate and concealed debt.

Reacting to the judgment, Prosecutor Rebecca Chalkley said the jury had found the Wimbledon commentator had acted “deliberately and dishonestly”.

She added: “Even now, Mr Becker is still seeking to blame others when it was obviously his duty.”The jury found Becker had failed to declare his share in a sprawling £1m property in his German hometown of Leimen, and hid a bank loan of almost £700,000 on that house, as well as shares in a technology firm valued at £66,000.

He was also found to have made £390,000 worth of payments from his business account to nine others, including those of his ex-wife Barbara and estranged wife Sharlely “Lilly” Becker.

Becker’s barrister Jonathan Laidlaw QC told the court the tennis star’s “fall from grace” had left “his reputation in tatters”.

He said: “Boris Becker has literally nothing and there is also nothing to show for what was the most glittering of sporting careers and that is correctly termed as nothing short of a tragedy.

“These proceedings have destroyed his career entirely and ruined any further prospect of earning an income.”

Becker will serve half his sentence on licence.