According to the German publication Bild, Arnold Schwarzenegger was detained at Munich airport while undergoing customs inspection. The famous actor flew to the capital of Bavaria to go from there to a climate conference in the Austrian city of Kitzbühel but is now undergoing a police search (and has already missed his flight).
The reason for the detention was an expensive watch that customs officers found in Schwarzenegger’s suitcase. According to the actor’s representatives, he specifically took them with him to sell them at auction and did not expect such a cold reception. However, the customs service had its views on this matter, so for several hours in a row the actor has been patiently answering the investigators’ questions.
The watch is worth such close attention. The watch is known to be custom-made and truly unique. Audemars Piguet (which produces only about 45,000 watches a year, with annual sales of about two billion euros) made them especially for Arnold. This is indeed a very expensive and unique thing, but is it a reason to detain a person?
This question has already been answered by Thomas Meister, a representative of the Main Customs Office of Munich: “We have opened a criminal case by tax law. The watch had to be registered because it was an import.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger will not be able to resolve the issue peacefully, and there is also a possibility that the climate forum will be held without his participation. However, he has a chance to get out of this story. If the watch was intended for an auction, and the actor planned to donate the proceeds to a good cause (on the eve of the forum, this looks logical), there is a possibility that the Bavarian authorities will meet him halfway.