Boris Becker on trial in London for hiding his assets and trophies

London, 22 Mar German tennis player Boris Becker, winner of six Grand Slams, is on trial this week in London for hiding his assets, including property and his Wimbledon and Australian Open trophies, when he declared bankruptcy in 2017. The number one in the world has been charged with 24 counts in a central London courthouse, including nine counts of failing to present his trophies and other awards, seven counts of hiding properties valued at 1.5 million euros, five counts of not disclosing assets such as houses in Germany and London, and shares and accounts bank charges, two charges for theft of property amounting to 500,000 euros and one for concealing a debt of 825,000 euros. Becker, 54, has denied all charges and is facing a trial that could last up to three weeks. The German declared bankruptcy in June 2017 and the charges he is accused of occurred between May and October of that year. “Mr. Becker acted dishonestly regarding the ownership of various assets, which he hid on numerous occasions. The prosecution argues that Becker did this before and after filing for bankruptcy,” said prosecution attorney Rebecca Chalkley. Among the items that Becker did not give up to settle his debt were his Wimbledon trophies in 1985 and 1989, as well as those of the Australian Open in 1991 and 1996 and the Olympic gold medal won in Barcelona in the doubles category. Becker also hid €1.13 million from the sale of a Mercedes car in Germany, in addition to failing to declare two houses in Germany and one in London. Nor did it report a loan received from a bank amounting to 825,000 euros. “For hundreds of years, people who have declared bankruptcy have abused the system and played with it, acting in bad faith. These people should be punished for it and that is what the prosecution believes Becker did here,” said Chalkley. Becker was present at the Southwark Courthouse, in the London capital, accompanied by his partner, Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro, and assisted by a German interpreter. In recent years, Becker has combined his work as a coach, helping tennis players like Novak Djokovic, with that of commentator in the media, as he usually does at the Wimbledon tournament with the British network BBC.