Former tennis champion Boris Becker was sentenced to two and a half years in prison

The 54-year-old former world No. 1 was jailed after being found guilty of hiding £ 2.5 million (CA $ 4.02 million) in assets and loans to avoid paying his debts.

Declared personal bankruptcy in 2017, the German was sentenced to four counts: one count of withdrawal of property, two of non-disclosure of property and one of concealment of debt.

The six-time Grand Slam winner, who has lived in the UK since 2012, was found guilty on April 8 by London’s Southwark Crown Court of concealing or unlawfully transferring hundreds of thousands of euros and pounds sterling for non-payment of his debts after being declared bankrupt. .

He was notably accused of transferring hundreds of thousands of pounds sterling from one professional account to other accounts, especially to his ex-wives, of not declaring property in Germany and of hiding a loan of 825,000 euros (CA $ 1.1 million) and shares in a company.

Boris Becker arrived on Friday morning in a London taxi to the court, walking hand in hand with his partner Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro, before returning to the building. Serious -faced, he wore a purple and green tie, the color of Wimbledon, while his eldest son Noah, 28, entered carrying a sports bag.

Twenty years ago, he was sentenced in Germany to a suspended prison sentence after a dispute with tax authorities.

During the London trial, prosecutor Rebecca Chalkley accused her of using a professional account as a piggy bank for day-to-day expenses or school fees for their children.

Boris Becker, who denied all allegations, was acquitted in 20 other cases, including those related to the loss of his trophies.

He assured the hearing that he did not know where they were.

Among the nine awards creditors want to get their hands on are two of his three Wimbledon cups, two Australian Open trophies and his doubles gold at the 1992 Olympics.

The former tennis star said during the trial held from March 21 to April 8 that he was still with her many awards and memorabilia accumulated over 15 years on the world circuit, but some are lost.

He had previously auctioned off some of his awards for 700,000 pounds (CA $ 1.12 million) to pay off some of his debts.

At the time of his bankruptcy, his debts were estimated at £ 50 million (CA $ 80.4 million).

The announcement of his bankruptcy came days before the Wimbledon tournament, where the first German player to win a grand slam title was working for the BBC and television in Australia and Japan.

At the hearing, he said how much he had been shocked at the situation. All the news ended, I walked into the gate of Wimbledon and everyone knew. I was embarrassed because I was bankrupthe said.

According to him, his bankruptcy and his treatment in the media are weakening Becker brandso he found it difficult to pay his debts.

This case is not the first for Boris Becker, a restless sportsman, who lived in Monaco and Switzerland before settling in England.

She has already had legal setbacks for unpaid debts to Spanish justice, for work at her villa in Mallorca, and to Swiss justice, for not paying the pastor she married in 2009.

In 2002, German courts sentenced him to a two -year suspended sentence of imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 euros ($ 675,000 CAD) for about 1.7 million euros ($ 2.9 million CAD).