After being declared bankrupt in June 2017, the former tennis star was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for concealing millions of pounds.
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The UK Home Office has announced that Boris Becker would be considered for deportation, with experts predicting that the prospective legal struggle might create a precedent, and that Becker may have to defend himself in court if he wants to stay in the UK. After being declared bankrupt in June 2017, the former tennis star was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for concealing millions of pounds in assets. Becker will serve half of his prison sentence under the Insolvency Act.
According to The Guardian, a UK Home Office representative said that while it did not usually comment on particular cases, every foreign national convicted of a crime and sentenced to prison is assessed for deportation as soon as possible. Because the Home Office may allege that Becker’s criminal offences persisted after the Brexit departure agreement was completed on December 31, 2020, making immigration legislation for EU citizens more harsh, such a development is likely to make case history.
Due to this of the ambiguity, Becker, who is not believed to have accepted British citizenship, might be deported under either the earlier, more lenient version of the UK Borders Act 2007, or the new version, which went into effect on December 31, 2020. Experts estimate that fighting it might cost up to 30,000 pounds, therefore Becker may have to defend himself in court as a litigant in person.
Boris Becker was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on Friday after a British court found him guilty of charges related to his 2017 bankruptcy. The six-time Grand Slam champion, 54, will serve half of his sentence after being found guilty of transferring large sums of money from his business account at Southwark Crown Court in London. He also failed to declare a property in Germany and kept 825,000 euros in debt and shares in a technology company hidden from the authorities. He was acquitted of a total of 20 charges earlier this month, including nine counts of failing to return trophies and medals he won during his illustrious tennis career.
Becker testified that he earned a “significant amount” of money during his career and that he paid cash for several properties. However, following his retirement in 1999, the German, who went on to coach current world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic, work as a TV sports commentator, and serve as a brand ambassador for companies such as Puma, said his income “decreased dramatically.” Becker, who lived in Monte Carlo and Switzerland before moving to the UK, said his financial obligations included a rented house in Wimbledon, south-west London, that cost him 22,000 euros per month.
