Six-time Grand Slam tennis champion Boris Becker does not know where his Wimbledon trophies are, he has told a jury.
Becker was declared bankrupt on June 21, 2017, and is on trial for reportedly failing to hand over assets including nine trophies and medals from his glittering career after he burst on to the scene by winning the 1985 Wimbledon’s men’s singles title at the age of 17.
Becker, 54, told the jury at London’s Southwark Crown Court he would produce the trophies “tomorrow” if he had them.
He said he has sold his properties to help fix his finances and that he had “lots” of trophies and memorabilia from his 15-year career, but some are now missing.
The German former world number one said: “For the player, it’s about winning the title. The trophy is not so much when you are playing.
“Nowadays, I wish I have them to show them to my children.”
Becker, who won 49 singles titles in 77 finals over 16 years, has denied 24 charges under the Insolvency Act.
Among the awards he is accused of failing to hand over after he was declared bankrupt are two of his three Wimbledon men’s singles titles, his 1992 Olympic gold medal, Australian Open trophies from 1991 and 1996, the President’s Cup from 1985 and 1989, his 1989 Davis Cup Trophy and a Davis Cup Gold Coin which he won in 1988.
The showpiece trophies presented on court are bigger than the ones the athletes get to take home, the court heard.
He described the Wimbledon trophy — the All England Lawn Tennis Cup — as “very large, you have a hard time holding it”. Winners instead take home a “much smaller” replica of the 60-by-30-centimetre trophy.
Becker said the Australian Open “is a big tournament to win it, but what you keep is like this”, cupping his hands towards each other for the jury to see.
He added that Roger Federer “made a complaint many times” about one trophy and “they enlarged the trophy that we got to take home”.
“Obviously what you receive on the court is not what you keep. What you keep is usually given to your agent or manager, they take it and you usually are travelling to another tournament,” he told the court.
Becker said he knows he gave a President’s Cup trophy to his mother.
Some of his trophies were auctioned off for £700,000 ($917,000) to pay his debts and he has made various appeals to try to locate the missing trophies.
Major tennis associations, halls of fame and museums are among the places that have been contacted, but Becker said he is “not in a better position today” to say where they are.
The court has heard that Becker’s bankruptcy resulted from a €4.6 million euro ($5.1 million) loan from private bank Arbuthnot Latham in 2013, and £1.2m ($1.6m), with a 25 per cent interest rate, borrowed from British businessman John Caudwell the following year.
The former tennis star said he had been seeking to pay off a more than £3m ($3.9m) loan from Arbuthnot Latham, including through the sale of his estate in Mallorca, Spain, known as the Finca, and he was “shocked” by his situation.
During cross-examination, prosecutor Rebecca Chalkley told Becker he was “distancing” himself from matters that were part of the build-up to his bankruptcy.
A legal document had been sent “signifying the next steps towards bankruptcy” but Becker says he does not remember it, the court heard.
Ms Chalkley said that by January 2017, he would have been aware he was unable to pay the loan but Becker said “that was not correct”.
She told him he had been “deliberately concealing” how much investigators found out about his assets because he was “keeping your powders dry”.
“There was no consequence of you not telling them too much but there were consequences in you not telling them enough,” Ms Chalkley said.
Becker, who said he had worked to verify his assets, added he had put his “complete confidence” in his advisers.
By 2018, letters and emails had been sent to Becker about the outstanding matters in his financial dealings.
Ms Chalkley told Becker he would only “engage” in the process when it was “in your interests to obtain finance or to deal with matters of finance”.
He said he had been engaged with the situation.
The hearing was adjourned until Wednesday.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday Spezia v Lazio (6pm), Juventus v Torino (9pm), Inter Milan v Bologna (7.45pm)
Sunday Verona v Cagliari (3.30pm), Parma v Benevento, AS Roma v Sassuolo, Udinese v Atalanta (all 6pm), Crotone v Napoli (9pm), Sampdoria v AC Milan (11.45pm)
Monday Fiorentina v Genoa (11.45pm)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
