TAMPA (WFLA) — Movie star and former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger was detained at Munich Airport for several hours over an unregistered luxury watch, according to multiple reports.
The German newspaper BILD reported that Schwarzenegger, 76, was heading to the World Climate Summit in Kitzbühel with a luxury watch he planned to auction off for charity at a dinner on Thursday night.
BILD and TMZ have reported that the actor was stopped by customs agents for a “suspicion-free” bag check, which is when the luxury watch was discovered.
The watch, which Schwarzenegger reportedly said is worth 20,000 euros (slightly more than $21,700), was produced by Swiss manufacturer Audemars Piguet especially for Schwarzenegger’s private collection, according to BILD.
Thomas Meister, spokesman for the Munich Main Customs Office, told the newspaper the watch should have been registered as an import and that criminal proceedings under tax law have been initiated.
“This is the problem that Germany is suffering from. You can no longer see the forest for the trees,” Schwarzenegger told BILD, explaining that he told officials the watch was being auctioned off but was still fined 35,000 euros (roughly $38,000), half of which had to be paid in cash.
Sources told TMZ that Schwarzenegger was detained for three hours and had to be taken to a nearby bank so he could withdraw the cash for the fine. When the ATM didn’t have enough funds, a working credit card machine was brought in by an airport officer.
It’s unclear if Schwarzenegger will face any additional consequences, but his spokesperson, Daniel Ketchell, tells The Washington Post that “lawyers are dealing with it” and that they “don’t expect any issues because Arnold always pays his taxes.”
