Prosecutors press for Becker's arrest

German state prosecutors said on Wednesday that Boris Becker should be sentenced to three years and six months in jail for evading taxes between 1991 and 1993.

State prosecutor Matthias Musial said on the first day of a court trial that the three-times Wimbledon champion had intentionally filed false tax returns over that period.

In closing arguments, he said that, although Becker had admitted his error at the start of the trial and paid the back tax last week, the fallen German tennis hero had nevertheless broken the law in a premeditated fashion.

"After seven years of denial, he admitted his crime at the start of the trial and paid the back taxes," Musial told the court. "This was a last-minute confession."

Musial said Becker had evaded taxes worth millions of marks and therefore was guilty of severe tax evasion.

He added that his late confession and tax payment were mitigating factors and that, as a result, prosecutors would not seek the full five-year sentence.

Becker could end up in jail if the judges convict him and hand him a sentence of more than two years. With sentences of up to two years, the court can hand the defendant probation.

It was not immediately clear if the verdict would be read on Wednesday.

TAX HAVEN

State prosecutors said Becker, who retired from competitive tennis three years ago, had claimed he was living abroad in the tax haven of Monaco between 1991 and 1993 when he was actually living in Germany most of the time.

After years of investigation, Becker was originally charged with withholding taxes from German authorities worth 10.4 million marks ($5 million).

The trial, which was scheduled to last until Friday, started on Wednesday with Becker admitting wrongdoing.

"I admit that I made a mistake 10 years ago and I know that I will have to pay the consequences for that," he told the court.

"I cannot be accused of hiding money or any other criminal acts. I stayed at times in a spartan flat in Munich between the autumn of 1991 and 1993 that had just a bed and a couch but didn't even have a refrigerator."

Becker amassed $25 million in prize money during a career spanning more than 15 years and he also made millions from endorsements and other deals.

Since retiring after playing one last Wimbledon in 1999, he lost most of his fortune to a costly divorce, a messy settlement with another woman who had his child and a string of failed businesses.

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