“What Arnie went through would make for a really funny cop movie.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger, 76, was arrested by customs officials at Munich Airport on Wednesday. Reason: Arnie had a valuable luxury watch by Swiss luxury brand Audemars Piguet, which he did not register. As a result, the Hollywood legend had to spend hours at customs booths and spend a tidy sum.

According to Bild, he paid 35,000 euros for the watch he auctioned off at the World Climate Summit in Kitzbühel. Its value was assessed at 26,000 euros, plus a tax value of 4,000 euros and a fine of 5,000 euros.

Even his explanation that the watch was being auctioned for a good cause did not mollify the customs officials. “We have initiated criminal tax proceedings. The watch should have been declared as it was imported,” a customs spokesperson told the newspaper.

A report on Schwarzenegger's climate initiative has now been sent to Austrian media. It says the watch will most likely be auctioned on Thursday, January 18, and all will be declared and properly taxed.

But in Arnie's defense, Natasha Unger of the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative says: “At no time was he asked to fill out a tax form, and he answered the customs officers' questions honestly and conscientiously. He cooperated at all times, whether it was an incompetent investigation or a total joke full of errors, very funny police. He will make the film.”

When collecting the requested money, there were problems: “The officers gave up after an hour of not being able to use the credit card machine properly and asked to withdraw money from the machine for the amount they wanted to pay. . But the bank was also closed as the amount was too high at the ATM they chose. At the customs booth, a new officer now found a working machine.”

And Mega Star Arnold? At least he seemed composed on the outside. In a photo of the tollbooth situation shared on X, she looks mischievously into the camera. He immediately “pays customs duty on his own watch – remember,” the report continues. “We hope they don't ask him to pay customs duty on his clothes next time.”

Swiss manufacturer Audemars Piguet's watch is a model made exclusively for Schwarzenegger. There are only 20 in total as “build” writes. On the back of one of the watches in question is an image of Schwarzenegger in his iconic pose with the words “Arnold Classic” engraved on it.

The starting price of the auction is 50,000 euros. After the incident at the airport, dozens of collectors have reportedly already inquired about the model from the manufacturer.