Wimbledon star Boris Becker jailed for two-and-a-half years over bankruptcy

Fri, 29 Apr, 2022 - 15:51

Henry Vaughn and Catherine Wylie, PA

Three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker has been jailed for two-and-a-half years for hiding £2.5 million 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 £50 million, over an unpaid loan of more than £3 million on his estate in Mallorca, Spain.

BBC commentator Becker transferred almost €427,000 from his business account to others, including those of his ex-wife Barbara and estranged wife Sharlely “Lilly” Becker.

Becker, arrived at Southwark Crown Court alongside partner Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)

The father-of-four also failed to declare his share in a £1 million property in his home town of Leimen, Germany, hid an €825,000 bank loan – worth £1.1 million 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 €1.7 million 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.