The Terminator star and former California governor was allowed to depart after approximately three hours of questioning, but Munich customs officials have initiated a tax evasion inquiry into the matter.
"We have initiated criminal tax proceedings. This will be handled by our criminal and fines office. It's too early to predict the outcome, considering various factors. The process will take some time," stated spokesperson Thomas Meister to German broadcaster RTL.
Schwarzenegger, aged 76, was en route from Los Angeles through Munich to his home country of Austria for a charity auction benefiting The Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative when the incident occurred.
The trouble-causing watch was a custom creation by luxury Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet, intended for auction at the charity event. A photo of the auction list, obtained by German newspaper Bild, revealed that bids for the watch were expected to commence at 50,000 euros.
Schwarzenegger failed to appropriately register the valuable timepiece upon its technical import from the U.S. to Germany. After a few hours of questioning, he ended up paying several thousand euros in customs fees and was released, according to CBS and People.
Notably, the actor was never presented with a declaration form, with a source describing the incident as "an incompetent shakedown" and "a total comedy of errors that would make a very funny cop movie."
"The officers struggled with a credit card machine for an hour until they brought Arnold to a bank, asking him to withdraw cash from an ATM to pay. The ATM had a low limit, and the bank was closed. When he returned, a new officer brought a working credit card machine," explained the source.
Despite his release, Schwarzenegger was not permitted to retain the watch.
German customs guidelines stipulate that travelers must declare "funds of 10,000 euros or more," and "valuable objects such as jewelry, expensive digital cameras, and so on" may undergo special procedures.
Typically, personal possessions are exempt from duties. As of now, Schwarzenegger has not publicly addressed the incident.
