Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 13, 1995 TAG: 9507130057
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FRANKFURT, GERMANY LENGTH: Medium
Her father and manager, Peter Graf, also is under investigation, Mannheim prosecutor Peter Wechsung said.
Graf is one of Germany's most popular and most successful sports figures. Unlike some other top-earning athletes, Graf has shunned the tax haven of Monaco and kept her residency in heavily taxed Germany.
Winner of 17 Grand Slam titles, she is unbeaten this year (32-0) and last week won her sixth Wimbledon singles title.
Ten prosecutors and tax investigators searched the posh, heavily protected Graf family compound in her hometown of Bruehl May 23, Wechsung said.
That was six days before the start of the French Open, which Graf also won.
Investigators also searched other properties and several banks in Germany and seized large amounts of documents, Wechsung said. He declined to give details of the investigation because private tax records are confidential.
``I can confirm there is an investigation and that on May 23 there were searches against Stefanie Graf and her father Peter Graf,'' Wechsung said.
Cartons of documents were taken from the villa as evidence.
Prosecutors will need months to examine the seized documents before they decide whether to press charges, Wechsung said.
Lawyers representing the Graf family have been in contact with Mannheim prosecutors, he said.
Graf reportedly is worth more than $72 million.
She has homes in Florida and New York, two homes in Bruehl and a $1.4 million penthouse apartment in Heidelberg.
Graf has earned $16 million in her 13-year tennis career and millions more in endorsements. Although her 1995 season has been reduced by injuries, Graf already has won $1,388,855 this year.
by CNB