Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared to be in high spirits Thursday night despite facing criminal tax charges.
According to ABC News, the former politician/bodybuilder was detained at a Munich airport Wednesday after authorities discovered an undeclared Audemars Piguet watch in his luggage. The outlet reports that duties must be paid on goods worth more than $467 if those items are intended to stay in the European Union. Arnold’s watch, which was valued at around $21,700, fit the criteria as he planned to auction it off at one of his fundraisers.
Arnold downplayed the incident while speaking at the charity event for his Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative, which was held in his native Austria. He began by referencing his hours-long detainment with a few awkward jokes about sex and his kinks.
“Can you even believe that all of a sudden I was in handcuffs?” the 76-year-old told the fundraiser attendees. “I was in handcuffs! Not because of the watch or because of the customs office, but I had a hot night with my girlfriend Heather [Milligan] last night.”
He continued, “I mean, it’s unbelievable. No, but seriously, the woman there at the customs office said, ‘If you don’t behave, I’m gonna put you in handcuffs.’ And I said to her, 'Hey, that’s OK. That’s a great deal, because usually I pay $500 for that.’"
Arnold went on to joke that authorities also raided his bags for a second timepiece, but their search yielded nothing.
“He couldn’t find it because I was hiding it,” he said. “And I can’t tell you where because I just cannot sit down today.”
The jokes, although corny, may have helped boost interest in the AP watch, as it ultimately sold for $293,000. According to TMZ, the event raised a total of $1.3 million, marking a new record for the nonprofit.
Thomas Meister, spokesman for Munich’s customs office, told local media that “criminal tax proceedings have been initiated.”
“This will then be processed by our criminal and fines office,” he explained. “It’s too early to say what the outcome will be. There are many factors that have to be taken into account. It will still take some time.”
