Arnold Schwarzenegger Held at Munich Airport Over Luxury Watch

Arnold Schwarzenegger was briefly held by customs officers at Munich airport on Wednesday after allegedly failing to declare a €26,000 (£22,000) Audemars Piguet watch the Terminator star was planning to sell at an auction in aid of his climate crisis charity.

The Austrian-born actor and former governor of California, 76, was stopped at the airport for about three hours upon arrival from Los Angeles, according to the German tabloid Bild, which quoted customs officials.Schwarzenegger was taken aside by officers who searched his luggage and found the watch, which the actor had allegedly not declared on his arrivals customs form.A spokesperson for the main customs office in Munich said: “We have initiated criminal tax proceedings.

The watch should have been registered because it is an import.”Schwarzenegger said he tried to tell officials that the watch was being donated to his Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative, and is due to be auctioned off at an event in the Austrian ski resort of Kitzbühel on Thursday night.

“This is the problem that Germany is suffering from. You can no longer see the forest for the trees,” he told Bild.Officials charged Schwarzenegger €35,000, including €4,000 in tax and a €5,000 penalty, according to Bild. The actor is said to have offered to pay the charge with his credit card, but German customs rules require half of the charge to be paid in cash.

Customs officials are said to have accompanied Schwarzenegger to a bank to withdraw cash, before he was allowed to continue his journey.

A customs spokesperson told Sueddeutsche Zeitung: “If the goods remain in the EU, you have to declare them through customs. This applies to everyone, whether their name is Schwarzenegger or Müller, Meier, Huber.” The watch was made especially for Schwarzenegger by the luxury Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet.

Other lots at Thursday’s auction, which Schwarzenegger will host, include “a training session with Arnold Schwarzenegger himself”, as well as artworks, signed exhibits, and “experiences from the worlds of sports and film”.“The proceeds will support the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative, which organises the annual Austrian World Summit climate conference in Vienna and backs climate projects globally,” the charity says on its website.

“Schwarzenegger has been fighting pollution and climate change for over 20 years. His approach has always centred around the idea that we need ‘less talk, more action’.”

20th January 2024 Update

The wristwatch that landed Arnold Schwarzenegger in detainment at Munich Airport on Wednesday raised €270,000 ($294,000) after being sold at a dinner in Austria for his charity, the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative. The event, which raised €1.31m in total, was attended by US Climate Envoy John Kerry along with many other climate action visionaries. Art pieces and unique jewelry were also auctioned off.

“Amidst the ongoing fight against pollution, I also witness the progress that has been achieved. We have come a long way. Today, so many people are here to be part of the solution,” Schwarzenegger said at the dinner. “I extend my gratitude to everyone who has joined my fight against pollution.”

Schwarzenegger is facing criminal tax proceedings for failing to declare the Audemars Piguet watch to customs officers in Munich after he got off a flight from Los Angeles, a Munich Customs press officer told CNN Wednesday. “He did not declare a product. A product that was imported from non-EU countries in order to remain in the EU. And this process applies to everyone,” press officer Thomas Meister said.

Meister said the former California governor and “Terminator” star was released and traveled on after being held for over two hours. The actor agreed to pre-pay potential taxes on the watch but the officers failed to get a credit card machine to work for an hour until they gave up and brought him to a bank and asked him to withdraw cash from an ATM to pay, a source close to the actor told CNN.

The ATM they brought him to had a limit that was too low, and the bank was closed. When he returned, a new officer brought a new credit card machine that worked, the source added.

Adding to this, Schwarzenegger was briefly held by customs officers at Munich airport on the same Wednesday after allegedly failing to declare a €26,000 (£22,000) Audemars Piguet watch he was planning to sell at an auction for his climate crisis charity. The actor was stopped for about three hours, searched, and the watch was found in his luggage. A customs spokesperson noted, “We have initiated criminal tax proceedings. The watch should have been registered because it is an import.”

Schwarzenegger, facing a charge including tax and a penalty, offered to pay with his credit card but had to withdraw cash due to German customs rules. He was accompanied by customs officials to a bank for this purpose.

The watch, made especially for Schwarzenegger by luxury Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet, was one of the lots at Thursday’s auction, which included a training session with Schwarzenegger, artworks, signed exhibits, and experiences from the worlds of sports and film. “The proceeds will support the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative, which organises the annual Austrian World Summit climate conference in Vienna and backs climate projects globally,” the charity stated. Schwarzenegger has been an advocate against pollution and climate change for over 20 years, emphasizing 'less talk, more action'.