A British court ruled Wednesday (December 18, 2024) that police can seize more than 2 million pounds ($2.5 million) to cover years of unpaid taxes from influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan.
The Devon and Cornwall Police force went to court to claim the money, held in seven frozen bank accounts, from the Tates and a woman identified only as J.
At Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring ruled that financial transactions by the brothers, including transferring $12 million into an account in the name of J, were a “straightforward cheat” of the tax authorities.
A lawyer for the force said that the Tates were “serial” tax evaders who failed to pay any tax on 21 million pounds in revenue from their online businesses, including War Room, Hustlers’ University, Cobra Tate and OnlyFans, between 2014 and 2022.
At a hearing in July, attorney Sarah Clarke quoted from a video posted online by Andrew Tate, in which he said: “When I lived in England I refused to pay tax.” A lawyer for the brothers, Martin Evans, argued that the bank transfers were “entirely orthodox” for people who run online businesses.
The proceedings are civil, which carries a lower standard of proof than criminal cases. Goldspring had to decide on the balance of probabilities whether the Tates had evaded tax.
Andrew Tate, 37, is a former kickboxer and dual British-U.S. citizen who has amassed more than 10 million followers on X. He has been banned from TikTok, YouTube and Facebook after the platforms accused him of posting hate speech and misogynistic comments.
He and Tristan Tate, 36, face criminal allegations in Romania, including claims of human trafficking. They are set to be extradited to the U.K. once those proceedings are over to face further allegations in Britain.
The Tates deny all the allegations.
Published – December 18, 2024 05:15 pm IST
