Yahoo News Arnold Schwarzenegger held at German airport over failure to declare £20,000 watch
Arnold Schwarzenegger was detained at Munich Airport after failing to declare a luxury watch while on his way to a climate change fundraiser.
German officials confirmed to The Telegraph that police had opened criminal proceedings on Wednesday against the Austrian-American film star.
The 76-year-old, a former governor of California, reportedly spent close to three hours in detention after touching down on a flight from Los Angeles shortly after midday.
The timepiece at the centre of the incident was made by Swiss luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet and is valued at around £20,000, German media reported.
Schwarzenegger was said to have had the watch made to order, and reportedly brought it to Europe to auction it off at a charity event in the Austrian ski resort of Kitzbuhel on Thursday.
Actor handed over cash
Funds from the auction will go to the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative.
All items brought into the EU with a value of over €300 have to be declared at customs and are subject to a tax proportional to the value of the item.
It was unclear whether Schwarzenegger was only required to pay taxes on the watch, or if there was an additional fine for allegedly failing to declare it.
Varying reports speculated that the actor was required to hand over between €9,000 and €35,000 before being allowed to leave the airport.
He was said to have been prepared to pay the fee on his credit card, but was ordered to pay some of the total in cash, which he was reportedly escorted to a bank to withdraw.
The star appeared unimpressed by his run-in with local authorities.
“That’s the problem Germany is suffering from. They can’t see the wood for the needles,” he told Bild newspaper.
Officials were said to have recognised the actor as he passed through the airport’s customs area and asked him to step aside for a random search.
