A customs spokesperson verified to CBS News that Arnold Schwarzenegger was detained by customs officers at the Munich airport on Wednesday for failing to declare a luxury watch he was donning during his journey to Austria.
Schwarzenegger, 76, was detained at the airport in Germany for three hours, according to a source with knowledge of the incident who spoke with CBS News. On Thursday, the former California governor and Hollywood icon intended to auction off the watch at his charity auction in Kitzbuhel, Austria.
Schwarzenegger is reportedly scheduled to attend a fundraising event for The Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative, an organization that supports climate initiatives worldwide (as stated in the news release).
According to the source, the actor was never required to complete a declaration form. When attempting to pay the taxes on the watch at the airport, the source said, the credit card machine was not functioning. According to the source, Schwarzenegger was then taken to an ATM to extract cash, but the limit was too low and the bank was closed; therefore, customs officers eventually brought in a functional credit card machine.
According to the source, the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative, like all of Arnold’s charitable organizations, will accurately disclose the watch’s sale proceeds. It was anticipated that Schwarzenegger would be permitted to resume his journey, but customs spokesman Thomas Meister told Agence France-Presse that “the watch will likely have to stay.”
Bild reported that the watch was custom-made for Arnold Schwarzenegger by the renowned Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet.
A criminal procedure investigation is presently underway into possible tax evasion, a customs spokesperson confirmed to CBS News.
