After only 230 days in prison, Boris Becker was released yesterday in Great Britain and deported to Germany. Also included: TV cameras. Becker shrewdly sold both his time before conviction and his release. He urgently needs the money.
Boris Becker is a free person again. He was released just under eight months after his conviction and imprisonment in Great Britain. The reason is the overcrowded prisons on the island. The British government has therefore launched a program in which foreign prisoners are expedited to their home countries. Becker benefits from this, legally he does not have to serve the rest of his sentence in Germany.
As a reminder: Becker was convicted because in his private insolvency proceedings in London he had concealed a property in his hometown of Leimen and shares with a total value of around three million euros. From a criminal point of view, the matter is now settled for him, but he is still insolvent. The trial was even extended because of his imprisonment. According to the UK bankruptcy register, he faces conditions until 2031, consisting mainly of repayments of his debts. In the next nine years, for example, he will not be allowed to set up a company in Great Britain.
The ex-tennis star always has to pay part of his future income to his creditors. Becker himself named a value of 50 percent last year, which he has to give up. However, it is not known whether this will continue to apply unchanged in the future.
Two TV deals that Becker has already bagged could provide information about this. He was received by ProSieben-Sat1 presenter Steven Gätjen in front of Huntercombe prison west of London when he was released. The broadcaster is not only planning a large-scale interview with Becker, but also spoke to many of the 55-year-old’s companions for his show, including his biographer. The special broadcast is to be recorded in both German and English in order to be able to market it internationally. Becker is said to have sold the rights to it exclusively to ProSiebenSat1. According to media reports, the fee is 500,000 euros, others even assume more than one million euros.
Becker forged a second deal with Apple TV before his conviction. According to Becker, the broadcaster accompanied him for three years. In a now two-part documentation, his career, but also his private life should be discussed. Becker also has his say, among other things, he gave an interview for the documentary shortly before his incarceration, excerpts of which can already be seen in the trailer. In addition, the makers of Apple TV spoke to family members and ex-tennis colleagues such as John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Novak Djokovic and Michael Stich. It is not known which fee Becker will receive for the exclusive documentary, but the deal should also be in the six-digit range at least.
The money that Becker earns from the TV deals is paid to his British insolvency administrator, who then pays Becker the share he is entitled to. The administrator also has access to all of Becker’s other assets, such as the house in Leimen and the blocks of shares that brought him to prison in the first place. Incidentally, because he kept it a secret during the insolvency proceedings, his remaining debt does not expire a year after it began, but was suspended indefinitely. How high his debts are is unknown, at the peak it should have been 37 million euros.
In any case, Boris Becker will have to stay away from his adopted home of London for the next few years. He is no longer allowed to enter the country until the end of October 2024 – that is how long his prison sentence would have originally lasted. For the time being he will live with his family. Where he will end up after the holidays is uncertain. He no longer owns real estate, such as his finca in Mallorca. Alternatives include a villa in Bavaria, where his mother has lifelong residency rights, or Miami, where his ex-wife Barbara lives with his eldest sons Noah and Elias.
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