Schwarzenegger's $38,000 Fine over Audemars Piguet Watch
January 22, 24
(IDEX Online) - Arnold Schwarzenegger, former governor of California and star of The Terminator movies, was ordered to pay a $38,000 fine in cash after failing to declare an Audemars Piguet watch at Customs.
He was stopped at Munich airport last Wednesday, en route to a Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative event in Austria, where the specially-made watch wnet on to sell at a charity auction for $295,000.
Schwarzenegger, 76, reportedly says he was never asked to complete a declaration form for the watch, which was on his wrist rather than in his luggage.
Customs officials said he would have to pay the fine in cash, but it was above the ATM limit and outside banking hours. Eventually they accepted a credit card payment.
Organizers of the Climate Initiative fundraising dinner said the sale of the watch went ahead as planned, and proceeds would support research into solutions for climate change. The event raised a total of $1.4m.