The criminal trial against former tennis star Boris Becker began on Monday in front of Southwark Crown Court, a massive stone building on the south bank of the Thames.

The fifty-four-year-old is accused of delaying bankruptcy and concealing assets.

A total of 24 charges will be tried in the three-week trial, which will be judged by a grand jury and Judge Deborah Taylor.

Taylor became known for a harsh bail violation verdict against Julian Assange.

In the worst case, Becker faces seven years in prison.

Philip Pickert

Business correspondent based in London.

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Becker appeared in front of the court opposite the Tower of London on Monday morning in a dark blue coat, with a trolley case and a grim facial expression.

He held his girlfriend Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro, who comes from São Tomé and Príncipe, by the hand.

Assets in the millions hidden

It's a tricky situation for the German, who won the gold trophy at Wimbledon in 1985 at the age of just 17 and rose to become the god of tennis.

Over the course of his career, he has earned around $25 million in prize money.

He earned even more with advertising contracts.

But apparently he couldn't handle money: almost five years ago, in the summer of 2017, he was declared bankrupt.

Various creditors have raised claims against him totaling £50m (€60m).

The trial was originally supposed to start last September, but Becker changed his defense attorney, so the start was postponed.

The past five years "have been damn long, the hardest of my life," said Becker in an interview with "Bild am Sonntag" in February.

Now he is glad that the process is finally beginning.

“If everything goes against me, I have a problem.

But I'm a person who never gives up and always fights to the end," added the former world number one.

In the meantime, Becker had believed in the insolvency proceedings that he could obtain immunity with an alleged diplomatic passport from a Central African country, but this attempt failed.

His lawyer Jonathan Laidlaw has announced that although Becker speaks good English and regularly comments for the BBC tennis matches, he will use an interpreter in court - "for a word or two".

"A whole lot of personal stuff" would come up at the defense, Laidlaw said.

Specifically, the process is now about Becker hiding assets such as real estate and company shares in the millions during his insolvency proceedings and tens of thousands of pounds to other accounts.

He is said to have transferred the money to his former wife Barbara Becker and his still-wife Lilly Becker, among others.

He denies all allegations.

So far, the bankruptcy authority has redeemed a little more than three million pounds from Becker's bankruptcy estate.

In the summer of 2019, trophies and personal items were auctioned off, even tennis socks.

Becker complained bitterly.

The auction is "just about hurting me personally, because of course I'm emotionally attached to the trophies," he said at the time.

Creditors accuse him of hiding a lot more, not just the gold-plated 1985 Wimbledon trophy, the 1989 Davis Cup, the 1991 and 1996 Australian Open trophies, and a 1992 Olympic gold medal. Allegedly, these trophies are said to be almost be worth two million pounds.

Financially even more important are two properties in Germany and his apartment in the Chelsea district of London, which he is said to have incorrectly stated.

Because Becker violated insolvency requirements, the Insolvency Service ordered in 2019 that Becker had to live with insolvency requirements until October 2031.

He is not allowed to run a British company, must keep his creditors informed about his financial situation and report every loan over £500.