LONDON: German tennis legend Boris Becker was discharged from bankruptcy court in London after a judge found Wednesday he had done “all that he reasonably could do” to repay creditors tens of millions of pounds.
Becker fell far short of repaying his creditors in full, but Chief Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Nicholas Briggs said it would be “perverse” not to end the case given the efforts Becker made.
“On the spectrum of bankrupts who range from ‘difficult as possible and doing everything to frustrate the trustee’s inquiries’ to ‘co-operative, providing information and delivering up assets’, Mr. Becker clearly falls on the right side of the line,” Briggs wrote.
Becker, 57, was deported to Germany two years ago after serving 8 months in a London prison for illicitly transferring large amounts of money and hiding 2.5 million pounds ($3.1 million) in assets after he was declared bankrupt in 2017.
He had been convicted in a London court on four charges under the Insolvency Act, including removal of property, concealing debt and two counts of failing to disclose estate. He was acquitted of 25 other charges, including nine counts of failing to hand over Grand Slam trophies and his Olympic gold medal to bankruptcy trustees.
He was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison, but was released early under a fast-track deportation program for foreign nationals.
Becker rose to stardom in 1985 at the age of 17 when he became the first unseeded player to win the Wimbledon singles title. He went on to become the world No. 1 player, winning two titles at Wimbledon, two at the Australian Open and one at the US Open.
He retired from professional tennis in 1999 and worked as a coach, television commentator, investor and celebrity poker player.
Becker blamed laziness and bad advice for his financial problems that led him to declare bankruptcy after owing creditors nearly 50 million pounds ($62.5 million) over an unpaid loan of more than 3 million pounds ($3.75 million) on his estate in Mallorca, Spain.
Attorney Katie Longstaff said at a High Court hearing last month that the joint trustees did not oppose his effort to end the case but did not support it because he still owed about 42 million pounds ($52.5 million).
Becker’s lawyer, Louis Doyle, said the two sides had reached a settlement that includes a “substantial sum” the tennis great must pay. The agreement “includes the outstanding trophies,” Doyled said, adding Becker “can’t do more than he has done to bring us to this point.”

DUBAI: Turkish Kung Fu champion Necmettin Erbakan Akyuz, who raised the Palestinian flag during a European championship contest in solidarity with Gaza, has said he stands by his decision.

Responding to the European Kung Fu Federation’s threat to strip him of his title, the 22-year-old reportedly said on Wednesday: “If I had raised the Israeli flag there instead of the Palestinian flag, the (federation) would not have imposed this penalty on me.”

Akyuz won his division in the European Kung Fu Championships held on Dec. 17, 2023, in Istanbul.

Ben Necmettin Erbakan Akyüz

Madalyaların en güzelini aldım

Mazlumların sesi olmak adına yaptığım hareketten dolayı Avrupa Federasyonu soruşturma açtı

Yaptıklarımdan dolayı pişman değilim, verilecek kararlarım nezdimde hiçbir kıymeti yoktur.

NEHİRDEN DENİZE ÖZGÜR FİLİSTİN . pic.twitter.com/Jpo8yjEnP1

— Necmettin Erbakan Akyüz (@neakyuz) April 29, 2024

As he stood on the podium, he raised the Palestinian flag and performed the Dabke, a traditional Palestinian dance.

“Opening an investigation, withdrawing the championship title, issuing sanctions and withdrawing all the world and European championships that I own … if you think that you can scare me with these things and make me back down, then you are truly fools,” he said.

Akyuz added that he did not break any rules and said the federation has “no values, no humanity, no conscience, no manhood, no honor, no dignity.”