Tennis champion’s bankruptcy extended by 12 years
Tennis
By
Mirror
| Nov 08, 2019
Boris Becker's bankruptcy has been extended by a further 12 years until 2031 after it was discovered he had hidden £4.5 million worth of assets and transactions.
The tennis legend was declared bankrupt in June 2017, with the period only initially due to last one year.
However, as reported by the Mail, the failure of Becker, 51, to disclose all of his assets to the Official Receiver has led to that period being lengthened as punishment.
As a result, Becker cannot borrow more than £500 without informing the lender that he is bankrupt; is unable to be a company director; and requires court permission to have any say in the running of a company.
A statement from the Insolvency service said: "The Official Receiver investigated undisclosed transactions occurring before and after the bankruptcy proceedings, totaling over £4.5million.
"Bankruptcy restrictions are usually lifted after a year but, owing to the nature of Boris Becker's actions, the Official Receiver pursued extended restrictions to prevent Mr Becker causing further harm to his creditors.
"Mr Becker offered a Bankruptcy Restrictions Undertaking, which was accepted on October 17, 2019 and lasts until October 16, 2031."
Anthony Hannon, Public Interest Official Receiver for the Insolvency Service, said: "Bankrupts have a duty to fully cooperate with their trustee and where this has been frustrated, a bankruptcy restriction undertaking of commensurate length must reflect that conduct."
Becker was originally made bankrupt at London's High Court on June 21, 2017, but protested he was not allowed sufficient time to settle his debt, after failing to pay £3.3 million to private banking firm Arbuthnot Latham.
At the time he labelled the case against him a "gravy train for the suits", and added that he "will be coming after the people who forced this process through."
He had been forced to auction off a number of personal belongings from his playing career, including his trophy for winning the 1989 US Open, which drew a bid of over £150,000.
Among the 82 items of memorabilia up for sale by the six-time Grand Slam winner were a watch given to him as a gift by Novak Djokovic, with the auction raising £680,000 in total.
The auction was due to take place last year, but it was postponed as Becker claimed to have taken up a role with the Central African Republic (CAR) as a sports ambassador, and thus claimed diplomatic immunity from bankruptcy proceedings.
Yet this was countered by the CAR's foreign minister Charles-Armel Doubane, who stated that Becker was "not an official diplomat", the role did not exist, and the CAR passport he held was among a number that had been stolen.
Businessman Stephan Welk - who provided Becker with the passport - was detained for possible fraud earlier this year.
Becker's mansion in Mallorca also remains up for sale for £9 million but is currently inhabited by a squatter, who claims that no one will pay for it.
It is still listed by local property firms but it has become run down since being abandoned by Becker.