Schwarzenegger Detained At Airport On Criminal Tax Proceeding: Report

CALIFORNIA — Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was detained at Munich airport for three hours on Wednesday for traveling with a watch that he might have intended to auction, according to a report from Page Six.

A Munich customs spokesperson told German news outlet Bild, which broke the story, that the agency initiated criminal tax proceedings because the watch should have been registered as an import.

The watch was intended to be auctioned at Schwarzenegger's charity in Kitzbuhel, Austria, Page Six reported, and is worth more than $21,000 from the Swiss brand Audemars Piguet.

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A source, who Page Six did not name, said Schwarzenegger was not asked to fill out a declaration form for the watch and "answered every question from customs officers honestly."

“He cooperated at every step even though it was an incompetent shakedown, a total comedy of errors that would make a very funny cop movie,” the source told Page Six.

According to Page Six, Schwarzenegger agreed to pre-pay any potential taxes on the watch, despite the jewelry being his personal property.

Officers initially attempted to use a credit card machine for the transaction, but after an hour of the machine not working they brought Schwarzenegger to a bank to withdraw money from an ATM.

However, when the former Governor attempted to remove the money the amount exceeded the funds and the bank was already closed, a source told Page Six. Upon their return to the airport, a new officer brought a different credit card machine that worked, according to the source.

After the transaction was taken care of, Schwarzenegger was released and sources said he still intends to auction his watch off to charity on Thursday.

"His charity auctions raise millions of dollars every year for after-school programs for kids all over the United States and environmental work around the world," Page Six's source said. "We hope Germany spends as much energy turning around their economy as they do asking for tax payments for people’s property they bring into the country, and we hope next time they don’t make him pay taxes on his suits."

Read more from Page Six: Arnold Schwarzenegger detained at Munich airport, ‘criminal tax proceedings’ initiated