Customs officials detained Arnold Schwarzenegger for three hours at Munich airport on Wednesday, claiming authorities had “initiated criminal tax proceedings” against him.
The 76-year-old star was detained for “traveling with a watch that belonged to him,” and customs officials reported that he thought it “could be put up for auction” at his charity event in Kitzbühel, Austria. . Page 6. Munich Customs spokesman Thomas Meister said: built news Outlets and watches are imported products, so they should be registered. According to Page Six, the watch in question is a luxury Audemars Piguet watch worth more than $21,000.
New – Germany opens criminal tax case against Arnold Schwarzenegger: Customs arrests him for possessing an undeclared luxury watch at Munich airport — BILD pic.twitter.com/kxp7X4CAYx
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Officials said Schwarzenegger was “never asked to fill out any forms and answered all questions asked by customs officials truthfully.”
They went on to say, “He cooperated every step of the way, even though it was an incompetent cop-out and a complete comedy full of mistakes that would have been a very funny police movie.” According to Page Six, the former California governor didn't seem too concerned about the allegations against him.
According to reports, Schwarzenegger was seen holding up the box that allegedly contained the watch in question and smiling at reporters and paparazzi.
WASHINGTON – MARCH 20: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger looks on during a brief press conference outside the White House on March 20, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
According to the newspaper, people familiar with the matter said Mr. Schwarzenegger agreed to prepay any taxes that may be levied on future watch sales, even if the watches were his personal property. He said he agreed. However, customs officials reportedly faced difficulties with the transaction as the card machine used to process the payment was not working properly.
After an hour of trying to proceed with the payment that way, Schwarzenegger tried to switch gears by withdrawing money from the ATM, according to Page Six. The funds required exceeded what the ATM could handle and the bank was already closed, causing further delays.
“When he came back, a new police officer brought a new credit card machine and it worked fine,” an insider told Page Six.
They noted that Schwarzenegger “initially responded to the interrogation fairly calmly, but became nervous about the time and procedure.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 21: Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on April 21 inaugurated a four-acre solar farm built on top of AltaSea's research and development facility at the Port of Los Angeles in the San Pedro area. I attended an event to commemorate the completion of the roof. 2023, Los Angeles, California. (Photo courtesy of Mario Tama/Getty Images)
He has since been released from the airport and plans to proceed with the auction of his watch, which is scheduled for Thursday, Page Six reports.
“The Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative, like all of Arnold's nonprofits, will appropriately report this matter,” an insider told the outlet. “His charity auctions raise millions of dollars each year for after-school programs for children across the United States and for environmental causes around the world.” (Related article: 'I would have been a great president': Arnold Schwarzenegger believes he could have won the race)
“We hope that Germany will spend as much energy rebuilding its economy as it does demanding that Germany pay taxes on the property of its citizens that it brings into the country. And next time we will pay taxes on German suits.” We hope they won't make you pay,” the official added. According to page 6.
