Tennis champion Boris Becker sentenced to two and a half years in jail over bankruptcy

Former tennis champion Boris Becker has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for hiding £2.5 million assets and loans to avoid paying debts. The 54-year-old was found guilty of four charges under the Insolvency Act.

Becker, who used to coach tennis star Novak Djokovic, declared bankruptcy in 2017 resulting from an unpaid loan of more than £3 million on his luxury estate in Mallorca, Spain, the Mirror reports.

The six-time Grand Slam champion and was legally obliged to declare all his assets, but failed to do so. He hid £700,000 of worth of assets, 75,000 shares in a tech firm and some of his two Wimbledon trophies.

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Following his bankruptcy, he handed his wedding ring over, but concealed ownership of a £1.3million property in his German hometown of Leimen, hid a bank loan of almost £700,000 as well as shares in an artificial intelligence firm valued at £66,000.

He also was found to have made £390,000 worth of payments from his business account to nine others, including those of his ex-wife Barbara and estranged wife Sharlely "Lilly" Becker.

Prosecuting, Rebecca Chalkley told jurors that Becker had given bankruptcy officials 'the runaround'. She added: "The obligations and duties were with him." Becker will spend at least 15 months behind bars.

Becker, who wore his Wimbledon tie as he was accompanied to Southwark Crown Court by his partner Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro, has a previous conviction for tax evasion and attempted tax evasion in Germany in 2002, and Judge Deborah Taylor was implored to take that into account when deciding on a sentence for the 54-year-old