Due to suspicions that he neglected to declare a high-end watch that he intended to auction for charity, Arnold Schwarzenegger was detained at a German airport.
The Hollywood star was detained at Munich airport on Wednesday for three hours.
Given that the watch was meant to be sold inside the European Union (EU), an inquiry into possible tax evasion was initiated.
Anybody coming with “cash or certain valuable items” worth more than €10,000 (£8,580) is required by EU regulations to report it.
The BBC’s US partner CBS News, however, was informed by a source that Schwarzenegger was not requested to complete a declaration form.
After overcoming several obstacles, the actor, politician, and climate change activist was finally able to pay the tax.
The 76-year-old was told to wait for a new card machine to be delivered by customs officials after the first card machine failed and it was found that the closest bank was closed and the ATM withdrawal limits were too low.
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The airport event was described by the actor’s representative as “a total comedy full of errors, but which would make a very funny police film” to the German newspaper Bild.
Bild claimed that Schwarzenegger “took the incident calmly,” and one of its published photos saw the actor grinning while posing for a picture and clutching a watch box bearing the words “For Austria.”
Local media reports state that renowned watchmaker Audemars Piguet, whose creations can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars, made the watch especially for the Terminator star.
At a dinner fundraiser for The Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative later on Thursday in Kitzbuhel, Austria—about 89 kilometers (55 miles) from Munich—the watch was reportedly going up for sale.
According to a press release, there will be sales of “artworks, signed exhibits, and experiences from the worlds of sports and film” at the event, which is scheduled to take place at the five-star Stanglwirt hotel.
The watch was one of only 20 in existence, according to an auction listing that Bild was able to obtain. It would include “an image of Arnold in his iconic pose with the words ‘Arnold Classic'”. The bidders were asked to start at €50,000.
