It got him into trouble at customs but ultimately paid off big: American actor Arnold Schwarzenegger resold at auction Thursday evening for 270,000 euros a luxury watch that he had forgotten to declare when landing in Munich, Germany the day before.
“Happy outcome for Arnold Schwarzenegger's customs adventure”
, wrote in a press release on Friday the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative, an environmental defense organization which will receive the funds raised during the evening organized in the upscale Austrian ski resort of Kitzbühel. .
On stage and to the great amusement of his 160 hand-picked guests, including the American climate envoy John Kerry, the Hollywood star put on a show, making jokes about the Munich incident, about the watch and handcuffs that the officials could have placed on him.
“It was a crazy experience
,” he said in front of a captivated audience, according to a video broadcast by the celebrity news site TMZ.
Arriving in Munich from the United States, the 76-year-old Austrian-American, former governor of California, was detained on Wednesday at the airport in southern Germany for having failed to declare this item of goods to customs. Swiss brand value.
Criminal proceedings for tax fraud have been initiated against him.
In addition to the watch, works of art and even a training session with the former weightlifter were put up for auction on Thursday evening.
In total, 1.31 million euros were raised to support projects dear to the actor who organizes an annual climate conference each year in Vienna.