Tennis great Boris Becker sentenced to jail for bankruptcy offences

Tennis great Boris Becker was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on Friday for illicitly transferring large amounts of money and hiding assets after he was declared bankrupt.

The 3-time Wimbledon champion was convicted earlier this month on four charges under the Insolvency Act and had faced a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.

Judge Deborah Taylor announced the sentence after hearing arguments from both the prosecutor and Becker's attorney. The 54-year-old German was found to have transferred hundreds of thousands of pounds (dollars) after his June 2017 bankruptcy from his business account to other accounts, including those of his ex-wife Barbara and estranged wife Sharlely "Lilly" Becker.

Becker was also convicted of failing to declare a property in Germany and hiding an 825,000 euro (USD 871,000) bank loan ad shares in a tech firm.

The jury at Southwark Crown Court in London acquitted him on 20 other counts, including charges that he failed to hand over his many awards, including two Wimbledon trophies and an Olympic gold medal.

Becker, wearing a striped tie in Wimbledon's purple and green colours, walked into the courthouse hand in hand with girlfriend Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro.

The six-time Grand Slam champion has denied all the charges, saying he had cooperated with trustees tasked with securing his assets — even offering up his wedding ring — and had acted on expert advice.

At Friday's sentencing hearing, prosecutor Rebecca Chalkley said Becker had acted "deliberately and dishonestly" and that he was "still seeking to blame others."

Defense attorney Jonathan Laidlaw argued for leniency, saying his client hadn't spent money on a "lavish 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 earnings potential.

Becker's bankruptcy stemmed from a 4.6 million euro (USD 5 million) loan from a private bank in 2013, as well as about USD 1.6 million borrowed from a British businessman the year after, according to testimony at the trial.

During the trial, Becker said his USD 50 million career 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 unseeded player to win the Wimbledon singles title and later rose to the No. 1 ranking. He has lived in Britain since 2012.