Boris Becker sentenced to two and half years in jail for tax evasion

London, April 29: German tennis legend Boris Becker has been sentenced to two and a half years jail term for hiding 2.5 million pounds sterling worth of assets and loans to avoid paying debts.

Becker, 54, was on Friday handed the two and a half years jail term after being found guilty by a British court of charges relating to his 2017 bankruptcy.

However, the former Wimbledon champion had denied breaking UK insolvency laws after he was declared bankrupt in 2017, owing creditors almost 50m.

But he was found guilty of four charges by a jury under the Insolvency Act. He was cleared on 20 counts.

The court was told that the six-time Grand Slam champion sent almost 390,000 in payments from his business account to others.

The case centered on Becker's bankruptcy in June 2017 resulting from an unpaid loan of more than 3m on his luxury estate in Mallorca, Spain, the BBC reported on Friday.

Becker was earlier this month found guilty by a jury after two weeks or so of hearing evidence. He was found guilty of removal of the property, two counts of failing to disclose estate and concealing debt.

Boom, Boom Becker as he was known during his heyday, the German burst onto the tennis circuit by sensationally winning the Wimbledon title in 1985 when he was 17 years and 228 days old.

He got into financial troubles a few years after retiring from tennis as some of the investments he made did not work out. A big payout in a divorce settlement with his first wife Barbara Feltus.

Becker has faced similar allegations of tax evasion in Germany also.

In October 2002, the Munich District Court sentenced him to two years in prison for tax evasion -- the execution of the sentence was suspended. In addition, he was sentenced to pay a fine of 300,000 euros and another 200,000 euros to various charitable institutions.