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A British court ruled on Wednesday that police can seize more than £2.6 million (US$3.3 million) to cover years of unpaid tax from influencers Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan.
Devon and Cornwall Police Force went to court to claim the money, which was held in seven frozen bank accounts, from the Tates and a woman identified only as J.
At Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Chief Justice Paul Goldspring ruled that the brothers’ financial transactions, including the transfer of almost $12 million to an account in J’s name, amounted to “outright fraud” of the tax authorities.
A lawyer for the police said the Tates were “serial” tax evaders who failed to pay tax on £21m of income from their online businesses, including War Room, Hustlers’ University, Cobra Tate and OnlyFans, between 2014 and 2022.
Andrew Tate, 38, accused the government of “outright theft” as they froze his accounts and seized “everything they could”.
“This is not justice; it is a coordinated attack on anyone who dares to challenge the system,” Tate said in a statement. “This raises serious questions about how far authorities will go to silence dissent.”
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At the hearing in July, barrister Sarah Clarke quoted a video posted online by Andrew Tate, in which he said: “When I lived in England I refused to pay tax.”
She said J – who cannot be named due to a court order – was not involved in the brothers’ business.
The brothers’ lawyer, Martin Evans, argued that the wire transfers were “completely orthodox” for people running online businesses. He said the siblings spent money on a number of “exotic cars” but did nothing illegal.
The proceedings are civil, which requires a lower standard of proof than criminal cases. Goldspring had to decide on the balance of probabilities whether the Tates had evaded tax.
Court documents show that an estimated total of £2,683,345.88 (about $3.4 million) is held in seven accounts that can now be seized by police.
Andrew Tate is a former kickboxer and dual British-American citizen who has amassed more than 10 million followers on X. He was 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 charges in Romaniaincluding human trafficking and the formation of a criminal group to exploit women. They will be extradited to the UK after the trial to face further charges of rape and human trafficking.
The Tates deny all the allegations.
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Associated Press writers Brian Melley in London and Stephen McGrath in Warwick, England contributed to this story.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
