What seemed like a private, leisure and simple trip has become a headache for Arnold Schwarzenegger, 76 years old. The bodybuilder, actor and former governor of California has faced a problem at the Munich airport that has cost him dearly, in all aspects. On Wednesday Schwarzenegger landed in Germany from the United States to, among other things, participate in a charity auction. However, upon arriving there he was arrested for not declaring that he was carrying with him an object of great value: an expensive watch that was precisely the one he was going to offer at auction.
The protagonist of Terminator —who has dual nationality, American and Austrian— arrived at the airport shortly before two in the afternoon on Wednesday on a direct commercial flight from Los Angeles, California. Their final destination was the town of Kitzbühel, in Austria, less than two hours away by car. But when she left the plane, the police stopped her to check if she had nothing to declare, as the spokesman for the airfield customs office, Thomas Meister, explained to several European media such as the German one. Bild, who broke the news, and as confirmed by the actor's spokesperson. It was there when they discovered that he was carrying a high-value watch that he had to declare. “We have initiated criminal proceedings under tax legislation. The watch should have been registered because it is an import.” As a customs official has firmly said to the local media S.Z., “if the good remains in the European Union, it must be declared at customs. This applies to everyone, whether their last name is Schwarzenegger, Müller, Meier or Huber.”
The specific watch is a piece from the Audemars Piguet brand, which was going to go on sale tomorrow Thursday in Kitzbühel at an auction in favor of the actor's charity organization against climate change, the so-called Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative. The value of these pieces of high jewelry is high. According to the actor, this particular watch would be worth around 20,000 euros (according to Bild, about 26,000) and was part of his extensive private collection. It is not known exactly which piece he is going to auction, but he is a great fan who has many high-value watches. In fact, he himself created a limited collection with the Swiss jewelry firm in 1999, just 1,500 watches that at the time sold for more than 35,000 euros (about $38,000).
Regardless of whether the piece was destined for a charity auction, he had to declare it and if not, as happened, he faced a fine. According to German media, Schwarzenegger spent around three hours with the officers. At first he took in the exhaustive search of his assets and his luggage, as well as the many personal and professional questions (about his family, his children, his assets…) that were asked of him. He even took a photo with the watch case in question in his hand, smiling and with the workers in the background (which the newspaper has leaked Bild). But little by little the interrogation progressed, time passed and he became tired. When he was able to leave, around five in the afternoon, he was tired, he got into the car and lit a cigarette before leaving for Kitzbühel, for the auction and to attend a famous alpine competition in the city, the Hahnenkamm race. , which takes place this coming weekend.
The most complicated thing was also paying the fine. There are different versions about its amount, but in any case it is very high. According to the American media TMZ, it would be 10,600 dollars (about 9,700 euros). But according to Bild The penalty amounted to no less than 35,000 euros ($38,000), which would already include taxes of 4,000 euros ($4,350) and a fine of 5,000 ($5,400). He tried to pay it with a credit card but the machine was not working, and a teller could not dispense such an amount, so the officers took the interpreter to a bank. However, the office was closed, so they returned to the airport and got another dataphone with which I can make the payment. Although her partner for a decade, physical therapist Heather Milligan, 49, was traveling with him, she was not able to go to the bank or get the money, nor were the rest of her companions allowed.
The actor's spokesman, Daniel Ketchell, who is traveling with him, explained that Schwarzenegger spent about three hours in detention. “The watch belongs to him. None of the people I know who were sitting next to us on a commercial flight filled out any asset declaration forms, neither did Arnold. “He went through customs and they told him that they had selected him 'randomly' to do a search,” Ketchell told Washington Post. “During the search they asked him every single question that officers always ask, so to say that he refused to testify is 100% false.”
#Arnold #Schwarzenegger #arrested #fined #Munich #airport #declaring #luxury #watch
