From March 21, the former tennis star will have to face a court in London for up to three weeks accused of not properly declaring parts of his assets and not handing over trophies in his bankruptcy proceedings. Becker denies that.
There is definitely reason to be tense: The three-time Wimbledon winner could theoretically face up to seven years in prison. Actually, the insolvency proceedings, which have been running since 2017, could already be over. But the saga seems to have no end. The “Bild am Sonntag” said Becker in an interview in February that the past five years had been “damn long” and “the hardest of my life”.
The 54-year-old wants to use the help of a translator for the criminal proceedings. The reason for this is not entirely clear, because the Londoner by choice actually speaks perfect English and has repeatedly appeared as a tennis expert on BBC television. “If he expresses something, it could be better, he does it in German and it is then translated into English,” his defense attorney Jonathan Laidlaw said at a court hearing last week, according to the PA news agency.
Before the trial began, Becker was unable to comment specifically on the more than 20 charges against the media. However, it is expected that he will be questioned extensively in court. Then “a whole lot of personal things” would come up, his lawyer had announced according to PA.
Among other things, according to the indictment, Becker is said to have transferred parts of his assets to his ex-partners Barbara (55) and Lilly (45) and thus withdrawn the insolvency administrator’s access. Another topic might be the missing trophies. Becker had pleaded innocent on all counts.
The insolvency administrator had already auctioned some of his trophies and other personal items in the summer of 2019. Including even tennis socks from his active days. Becker was deeply affected. “This auction is only about hurting me personally, because of course I’m emotionally attached to the trophies,” said the German once the “Bild am Sonntag”.
Some of the insolvency proceedings were characterized by bizarre twists and turns. For a time, Becker claimed that he could not be prosecuted because he was a diplomat from the Central African Republic. In fact, he was listed on the website of the country’s embassy in Brussels as “attaché for raising funds for sporting, cultural and humanitarian affairs”. The ambassador there agreed with him. But several members of the government of the bitterly poor country disagreed. Finally, Becker gave up the controversial argument.
So far in the criminal proceedings there are no signs that Becker, who is always known to be stubborn on the tennis court, could give up. “If everything goes against me, I have a problem. But I’m a person who never gives up and always fights to the end,” the former world number one emphasized in February.
Source: Nachrichten
