Police can seize more than £2m from controversial influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan after they failed to pay tax on £21m of income from their online business, a court has ruled.
Devon and Cornwall Police had sought to seize funds from the brothers and a third person – held in seven frozen bank accounts. referred to as J.
The chief magistrate at Westminster Magistrates’ Court said what appeared to be a “complex financial matrix” was actually a “straightforward fraud of the Revenue”.
Andrew Tait said the decision was “not fair” and called it a “coordinated attack”.
Some of the proceeds were directly linked by detectives to the human trafficking charges the brothers faced in Romania.
The court heard earlier that the brothers paid just under $12m (£9.5m) into an account in Jay’s name.
They had also opened another account in his name. The hearing was told he had no role in his online businesses, which include War Room, Hustlers University, Cobra Tate and Only Fans.
Part of the money the police sought to seize was cryptocurrency held in an account in Jay’s name.
Lawyers for Devon and Cornwall Police told the court that Andrew Tait had publicly declared that he had not paid tax in the UK, and that his approach was to “ignore, ignore, ignore”. had to because eventually they go away”.
The force argued that between 2014 and 2022, the brothers earned £21m apparently while the men had “no qualifications, business experience, established companies, shares, intellectual property or similar assets”. .
In ruling in favor of the force, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring said the brothers had given the court no evidence of the tax payments, but had insisted through their lawyers that the movement of cash was a legitimate business activity. was
In his written decision, the judge said he was “satisfied” that the brothers had “engaged in long-standing, deliberate conduct to avoid their taxes”.
The force can seize a total of £2,683,345, including cryptocurrency.
Following the verdict, Andrew Tait said he had been the victim of “the matrix” and “just theft”.
“This is a coordinated attack on anyone who dares to challenge the system,” he said in a statement.
“Speak out against the Matrix, and they will come for your freedom, your reputation and your livelihood.”
Andrew Tate has been banned from TikTok, YouTube and Facebook after the platforms accused him of posting hate speech and abusive comments, but he remains on X with more than 10 million followers. .
The cash loss is the latest legal setback for Tate Brothers.
In June last year, Romanian prosecutors charged Andrew Tate with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal group.
Tristan Tate faces charges of human trafficking and Romanian authorities say his case relates to seven alleged victims who were recruited through false promises of love and marriage.
The Tate brothers deny the allegations against them.
Judge Goldspring said an account was used to transfer money in relation to the charges.
“I am satisfied that this account is used for payments related to the female complainants in the Romanian charges and significant payments to the co-defendants in the Romanian criminal proceedings,” he said.
“Whether or not the defendant brothers’ webcam business activities amount to modern slavery (and other) crimes will ultimately be determined by the Romanian criminal courts.
“But for these purposes, I am satisfied that none of these funds were declared to the tax authorities in the UK or Romania.”
He said this supported his conclusion that the brothers’ “entire financial arrangements were consistent with tax evasion and money laundering”.
When the couple was initially accused of hiding cash from the tax authorities, they told the court that they would rely on the evidence of an expert accountant.
The plan was later abandoned and Judge Goldspring said he ultimately provided no evidence to counter the police charge.
Devon and Cornwall Police said it welcomed the judge’s decision.
A spokesman for the force said: “Our aim from the outset has been to show that Andrew and Tristan Tate evaded tax and laundered money through bank accounts located in Devon.
“Both individuals are accused of concealing the origin of their income by transferring money through ‘front’ accounts, structuring criminal activities and disbursing these earnings in the guise of crime.
“We will refrain from further comment until the end of the 28-day appeal period.”
Separately, Bedfordshire Police are seeking to extradite the Tate brothers to the UK over rape and human trafficking charges, which they deny.
A judge in Bucharest has said the extradition request will be dealt with after the trial in Romania ends.