The three-time Wimbledon champion, 54, was spotted yesterday in West London sporting a casual look consisting of jeans and grey jumper, which he paired with a red chequered scarf and black Miami Heat hat as he smoked a cigarette in the street. It comes after the tennis star was accused of hiding millions of pounds worth of assets, including two Wimbledon trophies, to avoid paying his debts following his 2017 bankruptcy. His mother, Elvira Becker yesterday begged a judge not to send her son to prison and said he is ‘a decent boy overall’, as he faces a sentence of up to seven years. The 86-year-old said: ‘I hope my son doesn’t have to go to prison,’ the Mirror reported. On Friday, the six-time Grand Slam champion was found guilty of four charges under the Insolvency Act and acquitted of a further 20 counts at Southwark Crown Court. Becker, a former world tennis number one, was declared bankrupt in June 2017 over an unpaid loan of more than £3million on his estate in Mallorca, Spain. Boris Becker, 54, was spotted yesterday in West London wearing a red chequered scarf and black Miami Heat hat as he walked along the pavement smoking a cigarette It comes after the tennis star was accused of hiding millions of pounds worth of assets, including two Wimbledon trophies, to avoid paying his debts following his 2017 bankruptcy On Friday, the six-time Grand Slam champion was found guilty of four charges under the Insolvency Act and acquitted of a further 20 counts at Southwark Crown Cour Elvira Becker, 86, said she hopes that her ‘overall decent son’ does not gave to go to prison, after he was found guilty of breaking UK insolvency laws But he continued to spend hundreds of pounds at luxury department store Harrods, bought online groceries at Ocado and treated himself to designer Ralph Lauren clothes, jurors had heard. He also allegedly hid around £950,000 from the sale of a Mercedes car dealership he owns in Germany, which was paid into his Boris Becker Private Office (BBPOL) account. Becker was found guilty of removal of property regarding 426,930 Euros (£350,000) to nine recipients including his ex-wives Barbara and Sharlely ‘Lilly’ Becker. He was also convicted of trying to conceal the ownership of his £1.8million villa ‘Im Schilling’ in his native Leimen, Germany, as well as his ownership of 75,000 Data Corp shares. Jurors also found him guilty of concealing a loan of 825,000 Euros (£688,000) owed by him to the Bank Alpinum of Lichtenstein. Boris Becker arriving at Southwark Crown Court in London this week alongside partner Lilian de Carvalho Monteiroover Becker was found guilty of removal of property regarding 426,930 Euros (£350,000) to nine recipients including his ex-wives Barbara and Sharlely ‘Lilly’ Becker (pictured here with Becker) But he was cleared of all other charges including failing to hand over nine tennis trophies including those won at the 1985 and 1989 Wimbledon tournament, the 1991 and 1996 Australian Open and the 1992 Olympics. He could face a maximum seven years in jail. Becker won his first Wimbledon title in 1985 when he was just 17 years and 228 days old to become the youngest men’s singles champion at SW19. He appeared in 77 finals and won 49 singles titles during his 16 years as a tennis pro. On Friday, the troubled star was supported in court by his partner Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro as he arrived in court wearing a grey coat and maroon scarf. He denied 24 offences under the Insolvency Act relating to his June 2017 bankruptcy over a £3.5million loan from private bank Arbuthnot Latham for a villa in Mallorca. Tennis ace Becker allegedly squirrelled money away by sending huge sums to his first wife Barbara (pictured together in 2000) Becker was found guilty of removal of property regarding 426,930 Euros (£350,000) to nine recipients including his ex-wives Barbara and Lilly But, after considering its verdicts for 12 hours and 17 minutes, the jury convicted him of removing property, two counts of failing to disclose estate and failing to disclose a debt after considering its verdicts for 12 hours and 17 minutes. Becker was cleared of 20 other charges under the Insolvency Act, 1986. In a bid to hide money from his creditors, Becker transferred 426,930 Euros to nine recipients including his ex-wives Barbara and Lilly Becker. Becker also hid his ownership of a luxury villa in his native Leimen, Germany, where his mother currently resides. He also failed to disclose a £620,000 debt as well as his stake of 75,000 shares in AI firm Breaking Data Corp. But he was cleared of all other charges including failing to hand over nine tennis trophies including those won at the 1985 and 1989 Wimbledon tournament, the 1991 and 1996 Australian Open and the 1992 Olympics. The 54-year-old commentator was declared bankrupt in June 2017 after borrowing around £3.5 million from private bank Arbuthnot Latham for this property in Mallorca Becker, a former world tennis number one, was declared bankrupt in June 2017 over an unpaid loan of more than £3million on his estate (pictured) in Mallorca, Spain Becker was cleared of all other charges including failing to hand over nine tennis trophies including those won at the 1985 and 1989 Wimbledon tournament, the 1991 and 1996 Australian Open and the 1992 Olympics. He could face a maximum seven years in jail
Boris Becker’s charge sheet
GUILTY Removal of property – Between 02/05/17 to 28/09/17 – GUILTY Bankrupt failing to disclose estate – GUILTY Bankrupt concealing debt – GUILTY Failing to disclose estate – GUILTY NOT GUILTY Concealing property – Between 14/05/17 and 21/06/17 Bankrupt concealing property – Between 21/06/17 and 13/09/17 Removal of property – Between 02/05/17 to 28/09/17 Concealing – on 16/05/17 Concealing – on 17/05/17 Concealing Failing to disclose estate Bankrupt failing to deliver up – ALL NOT GUILTY Failing to disclose – NOT GUILTY; All England Tennis Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) cup he won in 1985 President’s Cup 1985 Davis Cup Gold Coin 1988 Davis Cup Gold Coin 1989 President’s Cup 1989 Australian Open Trophy 1991 Olympic Gold Medal 1992 Australian Open Trophy 1996 Smartly dressed in a dark pinstripe suit and supported by his son Noah and his girlfriend, Becker showed no emotion as he heard the verdicts. The former world number one, who has been one of the BBC’s leading commentators at Wimbledon for years, was said to have failed to declare two German properties, his interest in a £2.25million flat in Chelsea, occupied by his daughter Anna Ermakova. Giving evidence, occasionally assisted by a German interpreter, Becker insisted he did not know the full extent of his assets and did not set out to conceal anything. Becker set up two companies in order to reorganise his finances after moving to the UK. But the day after he was declared bankrupt, Becker stepped down as sole director of his company BBPOL and his then-wife Sharlely ‘Lilly’ Becker was appointed in his place. After stepping away as the director he continued to use the company bank account in a ‘personal capacity’. After being declared bankrupt, Becker used that account to transfer money to other accounts belonging to him as well as others including Lilly and his ex-wife Barbara Becker. ‘It is the prosecution case it is no coincidence that the payments increased both in amount and frequency the very day after the order was served,’ said Rebecca Chalkley, prosecuting. ‘The prosecution say that is a further effort to distance himself from this bank account and the sums in it.’ Becker was accused of concealing three properties from his creditors, including a villa and apartment in Leimen, Germany and the luxury flat his daughter used in Chelsea. Ms Chalkley said the former champion paid Barbara £19,000, his estranged wife Sharlely ‘Lilly’ Becker £83,000 and transferred £225,000 to a friend. He allegedly also transferred £249,000 to his own account, while other funds went into an account he jointly held with his son Noah, while cash was hidden from creditors. Asked why he failed to do so, Becker claimed he didn’t believe he was the owner of these properties and he had to disclose them. Giving evidence Becker revealed how he faced massive backlash and his first wife Barbara, a black woman, received death threats after the two started dating. ‘Members of the media wanted me to be with a German-looking blonde wife,’ said Becker. ‘After we got married and got first seen she had threats to her life, that were covered by the police.’ Becker kisses the Gentleman’s trophy to celebrate his victory during the 1985 Men’s Singles final. It was his first Wimbledon title Jurors heard that Becker became ’emotional’ and ‘frustrated’ when he was asked to hand over nine tennis trophies he won over his career to pay for his debts. Despite the trophies being of relatively ‘low value’, Becker said he did not know their current whereabouts and he couldn’t produce them. Ms Chalkley told jurors they may well feel sympathy towards Becker as far as the demand he hand over his tennis trophies is concerned. ‘These trophies are assets of value and he ought to have at least given them to the trustees for valuation,’ she said. ‘It is Mr Becker’s case he didn’t know and does not know where these trophies were, some of the most significant of his sporting career.’ Jurors heard that Becker not knowing the location of the trophies that ‘defined his career’ is ‘simply not credible’. After numerous attempts to recover these trophies, including a BBC campaign, they are yet to be found. ‘Ask yourself if the reason for this is Boris Becker knew they were safely tucked away and therefore there would be no information about where they were,’ said Ms Chalkley. Some of his trophies were…
