The former California governor was detained for not declaring a luxury watch he was wearing while traveling to Austria.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was detained by customs officers at the Munich airport on Wednesday for not declaring a luxury watch he was wearing while traveling to Austria, a customs spokesperson confirmed to CBS News.
Schwarzenegger, 76, was detained for three hours at the airport in Germany, a source familiar with the incident told CBS News. The Hollywood star and former California governor was planning on auctioning the watch at his charity auction in Kitzbuhel, Austria on Thursday.
According to a news release, Schwarzenegger is scheduled to appear at an event to raise funds for The Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative, which supports climate projects around the globe.
The actor was never asked to fill out a declaration form, the source said, and tried to pay the taxes for the watch at the airport but the credit card machine wasn't working, the source said. Schwarzenegger was then brought to an ATM to withdraw money but the limit was too low, and then the bank was closed, so customs officers finally brought in a credit card machine that worked, the source said.
Once the watch is auctioned, the source said, the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative will properly report it, as all of Arnold's non-profits do. Schwarzenegger was expected to be allowed to continue his journey but "the watch will probably have to stay," customs spokesman Thomas Meister told Agence France-Presse.
The watch was custom-made for Schwarzenegger by luxury Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet, Bild reported.
A criminal procedure investigation for possible tax evasion is currently ongoing, the customs spokesperson told CBS News.
This story was originally published by CBS News' Cara Tabachnick and Anna Noryskiewicz on Jan. 17, 2024 at 1:44 p.m. ET.
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