MUNICH, Germany – Hollywood action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger was held at Munich Airport on Jan 17 for failing to declare an expensive watch, a Customs spokesman told AFP.

The Austria-born actor and former governor of California, 76, was detained in the Customs area in the afternoon of Jan 17 after arriving from the United States, spokesman Thomas Meister said.

Schwarzenegger was expected to be able to continue his journey later in the day, but “the watch will probably have to stay”, Mr Meister said.

Criminal proceedings were initiated against the Terminator (1984 to 2019) star and former bodybuilding icon for tax evasion, he said.

Tax should have been paid on the watch because Schwarzenegger was intending to sell it in the European Union, according to Mr Meister.

The luxury timepiece was due to be auctioned at a fund-raising dinner for Schwarzenegger’s climate initiative in Kitzbuhel, Austria, on Jan 18, the Bild daily reported.

Items typically auctioned at such dinners include works of art and signed memorabilia, according to the initiative’s website.

The bespoke timepiece was made specially for Schwarzenegger by luxury Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet, according to Bild. AFP