Arnold Schwarzenegger has been detained in Germany over a luxury watch in his luggage.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was detained at Munich Airport in Germany on Wednesday after a luggage inspection found an unregistered luxury watch in his belongings.
According to German outlet Bild, Schwarzenegger was seen with customs officers after landing in Munich from Los Angeles during the afternoon. The bodybuilding legend was reportedly on his way to a climate charity auction begin held on Thursday in his home country of Austria. A source close to the story revealed to CBS News that Schwarzenegger was planning to auction the watch at this event, which was custom-made for the bodybuilder by Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet.
The source also shared that Schwarzenegger was not asked to fill out a declaration form. He attempted to pay taxes for the watch while at the airport but the credit card machine was down and the limit was too low to withdraw money from an ATM.
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Thomas Meister, spokesman for the Munich Main Customs Office, commented on the situation to the German news outlet:
“We have initiated criminal proceedings under tax law. The watch should have been registered because it is an import.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger will be able to continue his travel but another spokesperson claims that this process will “take a bit of time.” Schwarzenegger plans to properly report the watch once it is auctioned off.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was born and raised in Thal, Austria. He did his mandatory military service for Austria for a year in 1965 and then moved to America in 1968, at age 21, to further pursue his bodybuilding career. He had won Mr. Universe Europe in 1965, and the small amount of fame he generated from this was enough to propel his career to America.
Schwarzenegger won his first Mr. Olympia title in 1970, at the age of 23, and remains the youngest person ever to win it. Arnold went on to win the Olympia title seven times total in total.
Arnold Schwarzenegger will likely be allowed to attend the auction in Austria on Thursday but the watch will remain in Munich.
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