A British court ruled on Wednesday that police can seize more than 2 million pounds (US$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 US$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, lawyer 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.