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Boris Becker arriving at Southwark Crown Court in London earlier this month. PA

Former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker jailed for two-and-a-half years over bankruptcy charges

The former world number one, 54, was jailed for hiding €2.9 million worth of assets and loans to avoid paying his debts.

THREE-TIME WIMBLEDON champion Boris Becker has been jailed for two and a half years for hiding €2.9 million worth of assets and loans to avoid paying his debts.

The former world number one, 54, was declared bankrupt on June 21 2017, owing creditors over €50 million, over an unpaid loan of more than €3 million on his estate in Mallorca, Spain.

BBC commentator Becker transferred almost €427,000 from his business account to others, including those of his ex-wife Barbara and estranged wife Sharlely “Lilly” Becker.

The father-of-four also failed to declare his share in a £1 million property in his home town of Leimen, Germany, hid an €825,000 euro bank loan – worth £1.1 million with interest – and concealed 75,000 shares in a tech firm, valued at £66,000.

Becker, who was handed a two-year suspended sentence for tax evasion and attempted tax evasion worth €1.7 million in Germany in 2002, was found guilty of four offences under the Insolvency Act between June 21 and October 3 2017 earlier this month.

Judge Deborah Taylor sentenced the six-time Grand Slam champion to two and a half years imprisonment, of which he will serve half, at Southwark Crown Court today.

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