Tennis legend Boris Becker has been released from a British prison after 8 months, and returns to his home country, Germany.
The three-time Wimbledon champion had been sentenced to 30 months in prison in April for illicitly transferring large amounts of money and hiding assets after he was declared bankrupt.
He had been convicted by London’s Southwark Crown Court on four charges under the Insolvency Act, including removal of property, concealing debt and two counts of failing to disclose estate.
Judge Deborah Taylor accused the six-time grand slam champion of “playing the system with bad faith” by concealing and transferring assets, and had deprived creditors of more than £2 million ($2.51 million) in assets.
He would normally have had to serve half of his sentence before being eligible for release, but was released early under a fast-track deportation program for foreign nationals.
“Any foreign national who is convicted of a crime and given a prison sentence is considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity,” the Home Office said in a statement, according to Reuters, while declining to comment directly on Becker’s case.
The 55-year-old, who has lived in Britain since 2012, was released on Thursday morning and travelled back to Germany shortly thereafter.
His return to Germany comes amid reports that the UK government planned to deport him.
Becker “has served his sentence and is not subject to any penal restrictions in Germany,” his lawyer, Christian-Oliver Moser, said in a statement.
Moser did not provide any further details about Becker’s location in Germany and said that any requests for interviews “will not be answered.”
