Arnold Schwarzenegger Stopped by Customs Over Luxury Watch After Arriving in Germany
Arnold Schwarzenegger was reportedly detained by customs officials at Munich Airport over a luxury watch after arriving in Germany on Wednesday.
The Associated Press reported that the actor and former California governor was stopped for a routine check, according to customs spokesperson Thomas Meister. He added that Schwarzenegger was able to leave nearly three hours later.
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The Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative said in a statement that The Terminator star was stopped “for traveling with a watch he owns, that he might be auctioning at his charity auction (Thursday) in Kitzbuehel (Austria),” his birth country.
The AP reported items and goods valued at $467 (430 euros) that will remain in the European Union must be declared and duty paid on them, where appropriate. The allegedly undeclared watch, which was made by Swiss manufacturer Audemars Piguet, was valued at $21,739 (20,000 euros), and was specially produced for Schwarzenegger, the German daily Bild reported.
The Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative added in its statement sent to the AP that Schwarzenegger “cooperated at every step, even though it was an incompetent shakedown.” He also agreed to “prepay potential taxes on the watch (remember, it is his personal watch).”
The statement noted the luxury watch will still be auctioned and the climate initiative “will properly report it, as all of Arnold’s nonprofits do.”
The AP reported the matter will now go to a customs penalty body in Augsburg, Germany, which will evaluate the case.
On Friday, The Hollywood Reporter learned that entrepreneur and investor Klemens Hallmann bought Schwarzenegger’s Audemars Piguet watch at the annual charity auction Thursday evening. The proceeds from the watch will benefit the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative, which is “committed to concrete and effective measures against global climate change.”
“It is very important to me personally to motivate as many people and companies as possible to protect the climate and to actively promote decisive, joint action against climate change,” Hallmann said in a statement. “In my company, we work hard every day to make the real estate industry more sustainable and, thanks to our green building strategy, we have been avoiding the use of fossil energy for many years.”
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