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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 almost $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.
Andrew Tate accused the government of “outright theft” for
freezing his accounts and seizing “everything they could.”
“This is not justice; it’s a coordinated attack on anyone who
dares to challenge the system," Tate said in a statement. “This
raises serious questions about the lengths authorities will go
to silence dissent.”
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.”
She said J — who can't be named because of a court order —
wasn't involved with the brothers' businesses.
A lawyer for the brothers, Martin Evans, argued that the bank
transfers were “entirely orthodox” for people who run online
businesses. He said the siblings spent money on a number of
“exotic motor cars,” but did nothing illegal.
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 human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to
exploit women. They are set to be extradited to the U.K. once
those proceedings are over to face further allegations of rape
and human trafficking.
The Tates deny all the allegations.
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