Becker given two and a half year jail sentence after bankruptcy case


Three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker has been jailed for two and a half years for hiding £2.5m worth of assets and loans to avoid paying his debts.

The former world number one, 54, was declared bankrupt on June 21 2017, owing creditors almost £50m, over an unpaid loan of more than £3m on his estate in Mallorca, Spain.

BBC commentator Becker transferred almost 427,000 euros (around £390,000) from his business account to others, including those of his ex-wife Barbara and estranged wife Sharlely "Lilly" Becker.

Becker arrived at court with his partner Lilian de Varvalho Monteiro
Becker arrived at court with his partner Lilian de Varvalho Monteiro 

The father-of-four also failed to declare his share in a £1m property in his home town of Leimen, Germany, hid an 825,000 euro (almost £700,000) bank loan - worth £1.1m with interest - and concealed 75,000 shares in a tech firm, valued at £66,000.

Becker, who was handed a two-year suspended sentence for tax evasion and attempted tax evasion worth 1.7m euro (around £1.4m) in Germany in 2002, was found guilty of four offences under the Insolvency Act between June 21 and October 3, 2017 earlier this month.

Judge Deborah Taylor sentenced the six-time Grand Slam champion to two and a half years imprisonment, of which he will serve half, at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.

Referring to his previous conviction, the judge said: "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."

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