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.”
Andrew Tate at the Court of Appeals building in Bucharest, Romania, in September. Pic: AP
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.
The Tate brothers. File pic: AP
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.”
Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan at the Court of Appeals in Bucharest. Pic: AP
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.
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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.
Sir Keir Starmer says he has full confidence in Rachel Reeves after questions were raised about inaccuracies in her CV and her use of expenses in a previous job.
The chancellor has been accused by former employees of being involved in an “expenses scandal” while working at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) from 2006 to 2009, according to the BBC.
She has also been accused of saying she worked for the Bank of England for longer than she did.
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The prime minister said the chancellor can be trusted and has no concerns about her conduct, Number 10 said.
Ms Reeves’ spokesperson said she was “not aware of an investigation, nor was she interviewed”. Her lawyer has denied the allegations.
One ex-colleague said she nearly got sacked after an investigation into three senior managers accused of “signing off each other’s expenses”.
This included spending hundreds of pounds on handbags, perfume, earrings and wine for colleagues, including one gift for her boss.
A whistleblower said there was also concern about her spending on taxis and on a Christmas party.
In a Facebook group of former HBOS employees seen by the BBC, several people referred to Ms Reeves being investigated over her expenses spending.
Pic: Reuters
Sir Keir’s official spokesman said it was “correct” the prime minister has “no concerns whatsoever” about the chancellor’s conduct and has confidence in her.
He also said: “I can’t speak to her time prior to government.
“The PM works hand in hand and has full faith in the chancellor.”
Sir Keir later said she has “dealt with any issues that arise” from questions about her career before becoming an MP.
Reeves lawyers deny wrongdoing
A spokesperson for Ms Reeves said: “Rachel is proud of the work she did at HBOS and the teams that she led, it is 16 years since she left the bank and the first time she was made aware of these claims was when approached by journalists.
“She was not aware of an investigation nor was she interviewed, and she did not face any disciplinary action on this or any other matters. All expenses were submitted and signed off in the proper way.
“Several former colleagues from her time at the bank, including HBOS’ former HR business partner, have corroborated this account.
“Rachel left HBOS in 2009 on good terms.”
Ms Reeves’s lawyer while she was leaving HBOS denied she had done anything wrong, saying she left HBOS with a “standard-style agreement” after a “mutually agreed exit was made during the bank’s restructure”.
David Sorensen, a managing partner at Morrish Solicitors, added: “My clear understanding at the time was that my client, who was in a senior role, left on good terms when HBOS plc was acquired in 2009, as evidenced by the payments made to her, the retention of her company car and other benefits for a six-month period, and a favourable reference.
“Absolutely no allegations of wrongdoing or misconduct were mentioned by the HBOS HR team during this process.”
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LinkedIn dates questioned
Questions have also been raised about Ms Reeves’ online CV, as her LinkedIn profile said she stayed at the Bank of England nine months longer than she actually did, the BBC has reported.
She has publicly said she spent a decade there, but her LinkedIn profile claimed she worked at the bank from September 2000 to December 2006.
However, she is understood to have left by March 2006, when she started working at HBOS.
That means she spent five and a half years at the bank, including nearly a year studying.
Ms Reeves’ spokesman, in a comment given to the BBC, said the dates on her LinkedIn were inaccurate and blamed an administrative error by her team.
They said the chancellor had not seen it before it was published.
The chancellor’s LinkedIn profile has now been updated to reflect she left the bank in March 2006.
Ms Reeves has repeatedly said she spent 10 years at the Bank of England, citing her time as an economist there as why she can be trusted with the UK’s finances.
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