In a sad turn of events, the six-time Grand Slam winner Boris Becker had his trophies auctioned off for a price of £700,000 ($920,000). He was declared bankrupt in June 2017.
If the news of Boris Becker’s hard-earned trophies being auctioned off wasn’t disappointing enough, the fact that he has been accused of failing to hand over all the trophies is quite unfortunate.
The legendary tennis ace is accused of failing to hand over nine trophies. He won a total of 49 singles titles during his illustrious career. The nine remaining trophies include two of his three Wimbledon men’s singles trophies.
It was told to Southwark Crown Court on Thursday that Becker was “frustrated” with the bankruptcy procedure, which is continuing to this day.
The court in London was told that Becker felt he was “badly treated” by private bank Arbuthnot Latham. The bank initiated proceedings over a debt of more than £3 million on a loan on his estate in Mallorca. A part of this whopping amount was subject to a 25 percent interest rate per year.
Boris Becker is also accused of hiding 1.13 million euros ($1.25 million)
The amount of 1.13 million euros is reportedly from the sale of a Mercedes car dealership he owned in Germany.
Trustee Mark Ford was one of the people who were assigned to recover Becker’s assets. He mentioned that the relationship he shared with the Tennis sensation was a “tense” one. He revealed that Becker became “emotional” while talking about the trophies he lost control of.
The jury heard that in one interaction with Mr. Ford, the tennis star said: “Mark, do you think, bearing in mind I am now facing criminal charges relating to these trophies, that if I had access to them, I wouldn’t have given them to you?”
Becker’s barrister Jonathan Laidlaw QC explained the trophies players are allowed to keep are diminutive replica versions of those presented on the court, showing jurors his 1986 President’s Cup replica.
The 62-year-old who is famous for prosecuting and defending in many high-profile criminal cases said that Becker gave the trophy to his mother along with the Wimbledon title from the same year. Jonathan mentioned that neither of the trophies is included in the charges that his client faces.
Becker denies 24 charges under the Insolvency Act. This includes nine counts of failing to hand over trophies and other awards and seven of concealing property.
Becker is accused of hiding 1.13 million euros ($1.25 million) from the sale of a Mercedes car dealership he owned in Germany.
Some achievements of Boris Becker
The 54-year-old is a former World no.1 and won his first Grand Slam at the age of 17. He was successful from the start of his career. He won three Wimbledon Championships. Becker also won two Australian Open titles and one US Open title.
Becker is also the first male player to appear in7 Wimbledon finals. He has a staggering win percentage of 76.9 in singles competition. He has won 713 matches and lost 214.
In the doubles competition, he has a win percentage of 65.1 winning 254 and losing 136 bouts.
Becker has earned prize money of US $25,080,956 in his glorious career. He also coached Novak Djokovic from 2013 to 2016.
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