Six-time Grand Slam tennis champion Boris Becker has denied giving bankruptcy officials the ‘run’ for the missing trophies.
Southwark Crown Court heard how the tennis star, 54, is accused of failing to deliver a number of awards after being declared bankrupt in June 2017.
During Monday’s proceedings, Becker was questioned by prosecutor Rebecca Chalkey whether he had given the bankruptcy trustee “the diversion” in an attempt to hide the prices.
She said: “You allegedly claimed you didn’t know where the missing trophies were. That’s just not true, Mr. Becker, is it? »
“You made her head spin,” she added.
But the former player, who has also worked as a BBC commentator and brand ambassador for companies such as Puma, said “that’s not right”.
Becker, who has won 49 singles titles in 77 finals over 16 years, is denying 24 charges under insolvency law.
Some of his trophies were auctioned off for £700,000 to pay his debts and he made various calls to try to locate them, the court heard.
Major tennis associations, halls of fame and museums are among the places that have been contacted, but Becker said he was “in no better position today” to say where they are.
The awards include two of his three Wimbledon men’s singles trophies, his 1992 Olympic gold medal, the 1991 and 1996 Australian Open trophies, the 1985 and 1989 President’s Cup, his 1989 Davis Cup and a Davis Cup gold coin he won in 1988. .
Becker is also accused of hiding €1.13m (about £950,000) from the sale of a Mercedes car dealership he owned in Germany.
The money was allegedly paid into his Boris Becker Private Office Ltd business account, which he used as a “piggy bank” to pay for personal expenses, such as his children’s school fees, the court heard.
Becker is also said to have transferred hundreds of thousands of pounds to other accounts, including those of his ex-wife Barbara Becker and ex-wife Sharlely “Lilly” Becker.
He also allegedly failed to declare two German properties, as well as his interest in a £2.25million flat in Chelsea, west London, occupied by his daughter Anna Ermakova, and concealed a £825 bank loan. 000 euros (nearly £700,000) as well as shares. in a technology company.
Becker, who is supported in court by his partner Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro, was previously convicted of tax evasion and attempted tax evasion in Germany in 2002, the court heard.
Jurors have already heard Becker’s bankruptcy stemmed from a €4.6m (£3.85m) loan from private bank Arbuthnot Latham in 2013, and £1.2m , with an interest rate of 25%, borrowed from British businessman John Caudwell the following year.
The court heard the former world No.
But Becker, who went on to coach current tennis star Novak Djokovic, said his earnings had “decreased considerably” after his retirement in 1999.
He said he was involved in an ‘expensive divorce’ from his ex-wife Barbara Becker in 2001, involving high child support payments for their two sons, and had to support his daughter Anna Ermakova and her mother , in a deal that included £2.5million. Chelsea apartment.
German national Becker, who resided in Monte Carlo and Switzerland before moving to the UK in 2012, said he had “expensive lifestyle commitments”.
He also owed the Swiss authorities five million francs (around £4 million) and separately just under a million euros (over £800,000) in debt following a conviction for tax evasion and attempted tax evasion in Germany in 2002.
