Boris Becker accused of hiding tennis trophies during trial

By Associated Press

LONDON: Former tennis champion Boris Becker went on trial Monday in London for allegedly concealing property — including nine trophies — from bankruptcy trustees and dodging his obligation to disclose financial information to settle his debts.

Prosecutors said Becker, 54, “acted dishonestly” when he hid or failed to hand over assets before and after he was declared bankrupt in June 2017. He is on trial charged with 24 counts under insolvency laws.

Prosecutor Rebecca Chalkley said the assets include trophies such as the 1985 and 1989 Wimbledon men’s singles title, his Australian Open trophies from 1991 and 1996 and his 1992 Olympic gold medal.

Becker is accused of concealing 1.13 million euros ($1.25 million) from the sale of a Mercedes car dealership he owned in Germany. He also allegedly failed to declare two German properties and hid a 825,000-euro bank loan.

Becker, who is on bail, denies all charges.

“It is the prosecution case … that in various ways he effectively hid from, or made unavailable to, those responsible for identifying the assets,” Chaulkley said. “The prosecution say Mr. Becker did this both before and after the date of his bankruptcy agreement by not disclosing, not providing, or delivering up, or removing assets or things of value.”

Becker sat in the dock Monday next to a German translator. The former world No. 1 and six-time Grand Slam champion collected 49 singles titles out of 77 finals during his 16 years as a professional tennis player.

The trial is expected to last for several weeks.