After seven months in prison, the ex-tennis star has not only been released from prison, but has already been deported to Germany. No penal restrictions await him here, explains his lawyer. However, his bankruptcy proceedings are still ongoing.
Former tennis star Boris Becker has been released from prison in Great Britain and traveled to Germany. This was confirmed by Becker's lawyer, Christian-Oliver Moser, on Thursday. The 55-year-old has therefore served his sentence and is a free man. "Our client Boris Becker was released from custody in England and left for Germany today. He has thus served his sentence and is not subject to any criminal restrictions in Germany," the lawyer said in a statement.
Becker was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for bankruptcy offenses at the end of April, which ended prematurely after less than eight months. There have been indications in the British media for days that the 55-year-old will be released from prison before Christmas. Moser confirmed that his client was leaving for Germany, but did not want to provide any information about his whereabouts. The Dailymail, meanwhile, writes that he flew out of the UK by private jet. The paper cites unnamed sources as saying a friend is paying the cost.
As the lawyer explained, the British criminal case is settled with the release from prison. "He has thus served his sentence and is not subject to any criminal law restrictions in Germany," Moser explained, adding that for reasons of protecting Becker's privacy, he was asked not to make any further inquiries. Becker himself has not commented so far. It is also unclear whether he plans to do so in the near future.
Becker, who had lived in London for more than ten years before his imprisonment, was able to benefit from the fact that he could be deported as a foreign citizen. A British rule provides that foreign prisoners can be released from prison and deported up to twelve months before the earliest release date. Becker was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment, but the court suspended 15 months on probation - so there was already the possibility of early release.
Becker, who became a world star in 1985 as a 17-year-old by winning the tennis tournament in Wimbledon, was convicted in London of delaying bankruptcy. He was originally charged with 24 counts, but was only found guilty on four counts. The court found him guilty of transferring large sums of money from a business account to the accounts of his ex-wives Barbara and Lilly and of not fully complying with his disclosure obligations in his bankruptcy proceedings.
It is unclear what Becker is planning now. In November, the Vice President of the German Tennis Association (DTB), Dirk Hordorff, offered Becker a possible engagement in the association in the "Sport Bild". "The doors at the DTB are always open to Boris Becker," said Hordorff. However, only volunteer work is possible. Financially, there are still restrictions for Becker due to the insolvency proceedings opened in Great Britain. At the beginning of last year, Becker said in a podcast that he could keep half of his earnings. "I made a deal where I have to give up half of the income I earn today, but I can keep the other half," he said in an interview with Johannes B. Kerner at the time.
In Germany, the District Court of Heidelberg made the British insolvency proceedings public in 2017, making it clear to debtors in Germany that they must assert their claims in Great Britain. The director of the district court in Heidelberg, Stefan Braun, said that nothing had changed in this status and that the insolvency proceedings were ongoing. The completion of his bankruptcy proceedings has been postponed indefinitely.
It is also unclear whether Becker will stay in Germany. On his 50th birthday, Becker publicly broke with his home country. In an interview with the magazine "Gala" called "The Great Reckoning", he said that he would probably not come back to Germany. "I have a German passport, but I don't feel like a German - my home is London." When he can go back to London is completely unclear. The question now is whether and how Becker will come to terms with his country of birth.
