German tennis legend Boris Becker jailed after being convicted of bankruptcy case in Britain

 German tennis legend Boris Becker jailed after being convicted of bankruptcy case in Britain

German tennis legend Boris Becker was jailed Friday for hiding assets worth hundreds of thousands of pounds after declaring bankruptcy. 

Baker was convicted earlier this month of four charges, including failing to disclose, conceal and dispose of important assets after his bankruptcy trial in London.

Baker, 54, who has six Grand Slam titles, was convicted of transferring money to his ex-wife Barbara, as well as to his estranged wife Charlie after his bankruptcy, in 2017.
Sentencing him to two and a half years in prison, Judge Deborah Taylor told Baker: "It should be noted that you have not shown remorse or accepted the offense, and there has been no sign of humility."

She said Baker would serve half of his sentence behind bars, while the rest would be under surveillance.

The court heard details of Baker's career and how the former world number one, who won Wimbledon three times, lost his fortune after retiring.

The jury heard how he claimed not to know where some of the awards he had received, how he had obtained a high-interest loan from one of Britain's richest businessmen and tried to avoid bankruptcy by claiming diplomatic protection from the Central African Republic.

Prosecutor Rebecca Chukley, who urged the judge to hand down a prison sentence, said Baker "was selective in announcing his property, and when things were going in his favor, he was fully exposed and when that was not the case he did not."

She accused Baker of "deliberately and intentionally manipulating the law" by hiding and transferring assets to deprive creditors of more than £2 million ($2.51 million) in assets, none of which has yet been repaid.

"Unfortunately, we have heard of Boris Becker's sentence, and we hope that he will emerge from this experience stronger in the future and will forever remain in the German tennis family," the German Tennis Federation said.

Baker was previously convicted of tax evasion in Germany in 2002 and sentenced to suspended imprisonment.