Becker says his tax evasion was not criminal

Tennis great Boris Becker went on trial in Germany today charged with tax evasion and admitted to wrongdoing but said there were “no criminal machinations”.

The 34-year-old admitted to mistakes by having a bed-sit in Munich when his officially-declared residence was in the tax haven in Monaco.

He is accused of evading £1m (€1.6m) in tax during 1991-1993 when he declared he was living in Monaco but actually lived in Munich.

“I was aware of and knew the dangers, and I accepted them,” Becker said about his having accepted the tiny flat.

But he told the Munich court he could not be accused of hiding his earnings or having been engaged in any “criminal machinations”.

The only thing he could be accused of was in accepting the accommodation, the three-times Wimbledon champion said. He had been warned about the flat, but he had ignored them.

“That was wrong. That’s why I am here,” Becker told the court.

He said it was not even a real apartment, but rather a “spartan” single room which had only a bed. There was no kitchen in it. Becker said he was only in Munich from time to time in the 1991-1993 period.

If found guilty, Becker could be jailed. But their are reports suggesting that a plea bargain deal might be made and Becker is said to have paid the £1m (€1.6m) tax bill.