Tennis great Boris Becker was sentenced on Friday to 2 1/2 years in prison for illegally transferring large sums of money and concealing assets after declaring bankruptcy. The three-time Wimbledon champion was convicted earlier this month of four counts of insolvency law and faces a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. Judge Deborah Taylor announced the sentence after hearing arguments from both the prosecutor and Becker’s lawyer. He told the former top player that he has not shown remorse. “While I accept your humiliation as part of the process, there has been no humility,” Taylor said. Becker must serve at least 15 months to be eligible for release. The 54-year-old German was found to have transferred hundreds of thousands of pounds after his bankruptcy in June 2017 from his business account to other accounts, including those of Barbara’s ex-wife and estranged wife Sharlely “Lilly” Becker. Becker was also convicted of failing to register a property in Germany and concealing a bank loan of 825,000 euros ($ 871,000) and shares in a technology company. The jury at Southwark Crown Court in London acquitted him of 20 other charges, including those for failing to deliver his many awards, including two Wimbledon trophies and an Olympic gold medal. Becker, wearing a striped tie in the purple and green colors of Wimbledon, entered the courthouse hand in hand with his girlfriend, Lillian de Carvalho Monteiro. The six-time Grand Slam champion denied all allegations, saying he had worked with agents in charge of securing his assets – even offering him his wedding ring – and that he had acted on expert advice. At Friday’s hearing, prosecutor Rebecca Chalkley said Becker acted “deliberately and dishonestly” and that he was “still trying to blame others.” Defense attorney Jonathan Laidlaw defended his leniency, saying his client had not spent money on a “luxury lifestyle” but rather on child support, rent and legal and business expenses. Becker, he told the court, has experienced “public humiliation” and has no future profit potential. The judge said Becker’s two-year suspended sentence for tax evasion and attempted tax evasion in Germany in 2002 was a “significant aggravating factor” in her ruling on Friday. He said he “did not heed the warning” and the possibility of a suspended sentence. Becker’s bankruptcy came from a $ 4.6 million ($ 5 million) loan from a private bank in 2013, as well as about $ 1.6 million borrowed from a British businessman the following year, according to court testimony. During the trial, Becker said his $ 50 million earnings had been swallowed up by payments for an “expensive divorce” and debts when he lost large chunks of his income after retirement. Becker rose to stardom in 1985, at the age of 17, when he became the first player to win the Wimbledon single and later rose to No. 1 in the rankings. He has lived in Britain since 2012.
