4 Saturday April 30 2022 | the times
News
Boris Becker faces the prospect of never
working again after being jailed for two
and a half years yesterday.
The three-times Wimbledon cham-
pion and BBC commentator was criti-
cised for showing no remorse as he was
sentenced for concealing £2.5 million of
assets to avoid paying debts.
Becker, 54, continued with his lavish
lifestyle and carried on spending de-
spite spiralling into £50 million of debt,
the court was told.
He was found guilty of spending
‘His reputation is in tatters’
Boris Becker’s lawyer
told the sentencing
hearing that the former
tennis champion had
lost everything after
“the most glittering of
sporting careers”.
Jonathan Laidlaw QC
appealed for Becker to
receive a suspended jail
sentence for breaking
bankruptcy law, saying:
“He was in desperate
financial straits.
“What in essence he
has done is exercised
his own choice as to
which creditors to pay,
choosing or preferring
to pay moneys to
dependents rather than
allowing the joint
[bankruptcy] trustees to
determine how thosemoneys should be
applied.
“We are not
concerned with the
sort of case where
money is being spent
on a lavish lifestyle or
wasted in other
respects.
“Boris Becker hasliterally nothing and
there is nothing to show
for what was the most
glittering of sporting
careers.
“It is nothing short of
a tragedy. It is not
simply a fall from grace,
it is the public
humiliation of this man.
It is a level that no other
bankrupt in this country
is ever likely to face.
“These proceedings
have destroyed his
career and totally
ended any prospect of
earning an income. His
reputation is in tatters.
He will not be able to
find work and he will
have to rely on the
charity of others if he is
to survive.”Jonathan Laidlaw said
his client was desperateBecker loses career and freedom as
David Brown, Stewart Fraser £390,000 after his bankruptcy, includ-
ing giving £28,000 to his former wife,
Barbara, 55, and a further £83,000 to his
estranged second wife, Lilly, 45. None
of the money has been recovered.
He was jailed for 30 months for the
offence and received concurrent sen-
tences of 18 months for three charges of
failing to disclose property. These
include a £1.3 million German home, a
£692,000 bank loan on the house
and £66,000 of shares in an artificial
intelligence company.
The jury cleared him of all other
charges, including failing to hand over
nine tennis trophies, such as those won
at the 1985 and 1989 Wimbledon cham-
pionships, the 1991 and 1996 Australian
Open and the 1992 Olympics.
Rebecca Chalkley, for the prosecu-
tion, said the jury found he acted “delib-
erately and dishonestly”, adding “even
now, Mr Becker is still seeking to blame
others when it was obviously his duty”.
Becker was red faced as the sentence
was read out at Southwark crown court.
His girlfriend Lilian De Carvalho Mon-
teiro blew him a kiss as he was led away.
Judge Deborah Taylor refused
Becker’s pleas for a suspended sentence,saying: “I take into account what has
been described as your fall from grace.
You have lost your career and reputa-
tion and all of your property as a result
of your bankruptcy.
“You have not shown remorse, ac-
ceptance of your guilt and have sought
to distance yourself from your offend-
ing and your bankruptcy. While I ac-
cept your humiliation as part of the pro-
ceedings, there has been no humility.”
The judge said that Becker did “not
heed the warning” he was given after
receiving a suspended jail sentence in
2002 for tax evasion in Germany.
The British former tennis player
Andrew Castle told LBC he was “still
reeling from the news... I’m sad that his
life has come to this and I hope he’s able
to rebuild on the other side,” but, he
added: “If you don’t pay your creditors,
you pay the price.”
Becker wore his Wimbledon tie to
court but he now faces being stripped of
his membership of the All England
Club. Its board will discuss the status of
his honorary membership, which was
given to him at the age of 17 in 1985 after
he became the youngest man to win the
men’s singles title.
The 13-member board is led by the
chairman Ian Hewitt, and includes the
former players Tim Henman and Anne
Keothavong. There is thought to be no
precedent involving a star member in
the modern era.
Becker’s membership entitled him to
use the leisure facilities at the club,
including the tennis courts. In recent
years, however, he rarely played
because of an ankle problem.
Becker tried to avoid bankruptcy by
claiming he was entitled to diplomatic
immunity because the Central African
Republic appointed him as a sport and
culture attaché to the European Union
in 2018. The republic’s foreign minister
described the diplomatic passport as
fake and Becker dropped the defence.
In court he recalled the shock at
being declared bankrupt in 2017, days
before the start of the championship. “I
was all over world news, and I walked
through the gate of Wimbledon and
everyone knew,” he said. “I was embar-
rassed because I was bankrupt.”
Mark Ford, Becker’s joint bankruptcy
trustee, said: “We take no pleasure in
today’s sentencing. However, we do
hope that these criminal convictions
and the custodial sentence that Mr
Becker has received will serve as a
reminder to all bankrupts of the im-
portance of performing and complying
with their duties.”
Former tennis player is paying the price
for his deceit, leading article, page 31News Boris Becker