Andrew Tate and brother Tristan lose £2.8m court case over unpaid tax claims

Controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan must forfeit more than £2m after a judge ruled they failed to pay any tax on £21m in revenue from online businesses, including OnlyFans.

Devon and Cornwall Police brought the civil case to seize £2.8m held in seven frozen bank accounts from the Tate brothers and a woman who can only be referred to as "J" for legal reasons.

Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring ruled in favour of the force in a judgment handed down at Westminster Magistrates' Court today.

He said what appeared to be a "complex financial matrix" was actually a "straightforward cheat of the revenue".

In a statement after the ruling, Andrew Tate said: "This is not justice; it's a coordinated attack on anyone who dares to challenge the system."

At an earlier hearing in July, Sarah Clarke KC, representing the force, described the Tate brothers, who are former kickboxers, as "serial tax and VAT evaders".

They were said to have failed to pay a penny in tax on £21m of revenue from their online earnings, including from War Room, Hustlers' University, Cobra Tate and OnlyFans, between 2014 and 2022.

The court heard 38-year-old Andrew Tate's approach was "ignore, ignore, ignore because in the end, they go away" and he said in a video posted online: "When I lived in England I refused to pay tax."

Police said the brothers paid just under $12m (around £9.5m) into an account in J's name and opened a second account in her name, even though she had no role in their businesses.

She received a payment of £805,000 into her Revolut account, the court heard, with £495,000 of that money paid to Andrew Tate, and £75,000 sent to an account in J's name that was later converted to cryptocurrency, the court also heard.

Martin Evans KC, representing the Tates, previously said the bank transfers made by the brothers were "entirely orthodox" for people who run online businesses and they did "a singularly bad job" if they had wanted to distance themselves from the money.

They spent money on a number of "exotic motor cars" but nothing illegal, Mr Evans said.

But the judge found the "brothers' entire financial arrangements are consistent with concerted tax evasion and money laundering" in a written ruling.

"I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that they have engaged in long-standing, deliberate conduct in order to evade their tax/VAT liabilities in both Romania and the UK," he said.

He found the frozen accounts were used to "launder the undeclared revenues" from the Tates' businesses, as well as "for the purchase of properties, high value items and to fund their extravagant lifestyle".

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesperson said: "From the outset we have aimed to demonstrate that Andrew and Tristan Tate evaded taxes and laundered money through bank accounts located in Devon.

"The investigation focuses on substantial earnings accrued between 2014 and 2022, during which we believe no tax or VAT was paid on those funds.

"Furthermore, both individuals are alleged to have concealed the origins of their income by channelling money through 'front' accounts, constituting criminal activity and rendering those earnings proceeds of crime."

The brothers are facing a series of separate criminal allegations - including human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to exploit women - in a case in Romania, while Andrew Tate is also accused of rape.

A fleet of luxury cars was towed away from their home in the capital, Bucharest, earlier this year following more human trafficking charges. They deny all of the charges against them.

Explained:
The allegations against the Tate brothers
Who is Andrew Tate?

The Tates are currently barred from leaving Romania but are set to be extradited to the UK once those proceedings are concluded to face further allegations of rape and human trafficking dating back to 2012 to 2015, which they also deny.

Andrew Tate has been banned from TikTok, YouTube and Facebook after the platforms accused him of posting hate speech and misogynistic comments, including that women should bear responsibility for being sexually assaulted.

But he remains popular on X, with almost 10 million followers - many of them young men and schoolchildren.

In July, senior police officers in the UK warned that influencers like Andrew Tate could radicalise social media followers into extreme misogyny in the same way that terrorists draw in their followers.

(c) Sky News 2024: Andrew Tate and brother Tristan lose £2.8m court case over unpaid tax claims