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.
Explained:
The allegations against the Tate brothers
Who is Andrew Tate?
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Luxury cars seized from Tate
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.
England star Jess Carter says she has been the victim of racist abuse online during the UEFA Women’s Euros in Switzerland.
The Lionesses defender, who has 49 England caps, said she will be “taking a step back from social media and leaving it to a team to deal with”.
In an Instagram post, the 27-year-old player said: “From the start of the tournament, I have experienced a lot of racial abuse. Whilst I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result, I don’t agree or think it’s ok to target someone’s appearance or race.”
Jess Carter. Pic: PA
Carter said she was stepping back from social media to “protect myself in a bid to keep my focus on helping the team anyway I can”.
She added: “Hopefully speaking out will make the people writing this abuse think twice so that others won’t have to deal with it.”
Carter also said that England have made some “historic changes with the Lionesses squad” that she was “so proud” of, and she hopes that by speaking out about racial abuse “it will make another positive change for all”.
‘Abhorrent abuse’
The Football Association leadership has condemned the “abhorrent abuse” against Carter and has contacted UK police about it.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said in a statement: “Our priority is Jess and giving her all the support she needs. We strongly condemn those responsible for this disgusting racism.
“As soon as we were made aware of the racist abuse Jess received, we immediately contacted UK police. They are in touch with the relevant social media platform, and we are working with police to ensure those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice.”
Carter during a training session in Switzerland. Pic: PA
The Lionesses said in a statement: “We stand with Jess and all Lionesses players past and present who have suffered racism.
“No one should have to endure such vile abuse, be that in football or any walk of life.”
They added: “Those behind this online poison must be held accountable.”
Anger and sadness
England teammate Lucy Bronze said there was “anger” and “sadness” among the squad following the abuse.
Bronze said: “I think we all know that any player of colour that’s played for England has probably gone through racist abuse. That’s a sad fact.”
She told Sky News’ sports correspondent Rob Harris that social media platforms need to be held more accountable.
Bronze added: “People need to be held accountable for their actions, whether it’s in-person or online. The abuse is not okay. Racism is not okay.”
Read more from Sky News:
Lionesses ‘very optimistic’ Williamson will be fit for semi-final
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The prime minister said on X that there was “no place for racism in football or anywhere in society”.
Sir Keir Starmer added: “I stand with Jess, the Lionesses, and any players who have suffered racism, on and off the pitch.”
Carter has started all four of England’s games at the tournament.
The defending champions face Italy on Tuesday night in Geneva in the Euros semi-finals. If they win and reach the final, they will play either Germany or Spain, who face each other on Wednesday.
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The Lionesses also said that until now, they have chosen to take the knee before matches.
“It is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism,” they said.
England won’t be taking the knee before semi-final
The Lionesses said they have agreed as a squad to remain standing before kick-off in the match against Italy.
“We hope the game can come together to see what more can be done.”
Kneeling, a symbolic anti-racism gesture, came to prominence in 2016 when NFL player Colin Kaepernick knelt in protest during the United States national anthem and became more widespread during the Black Lives Matter movement.
As head of football’s anti-racism body, there was dread for Sanjay Bhandari watching England’s Women’s Euros quarter-final with Sweden.
But that’s, grimly, how it always is. Concerned that black players will be singled out for blame. Not with a legitimate critique of their performances, but with toxicity and racism.
And now Kick It Out is working with the Football Association to support Jess Carter after the England defender spoke out over the abuse she has been targeted with throughout the Women’s European Championship.
The players want social media firms to do more, but Mr Bhandari, the Kick It Out chairman, is concerned by their limited approach to the scourge of online hate.
Jess Carter says she has been the target of racist abuse. Pic: PA
“The social media companies need to do far more,” he told Sky News. “They’ve actually gone backwards over the last four or five years, not forwards. It’s got worse on social media, not better.
“And they need to provide us with the tools to help keep us safe and to remove some of this toxicity from the platforms. They’re just not doing enough.
“I would say that X is the worst. It has become no-holds-barred.
“And with Instagram, it is much more in the direct messaging, and I think there needs to be much more done there to protect people from those messages.”
Meta, which owns Instagram, did not reply to a request for comment.
There was no response from an email sent to X’s press email address.
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‘People need to be held accountable’ after Euros racism
LinkedIn indicated that X’s UK managing director Jonathan Lewis’s account had seen a request for comment, but there was no response.
On Friday, Mr Lewis and Premier League club Burnley were celebrating a new partnership in an announcement that made no mention of the abuse that many players across the world face on X.
The hope is that the Online Safety Act will lead to social media firms implementing the safety tools required of them.
Mr Bhandari said: “They have to be enforced by law enforcement against individual perpetrators, and also the regulatory parts need to be forced against the social media companies to force them to do the things that they need to do.”
Grimly familiar situation
The FA reported the abuse suffered by Carter to police, and the hope is for speedy action because this is a grimly familiar situation.
After the men’s Euros final in 2021, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were racially abused after missing penalties in the shootout defeat to Italy.
Bukayo Saka was among the England players targeted after missing penalties in the Euros final. Pic: Reuters
While players have been taking a knee against racism in men’s and women’s games, the Lionesses feel that is no longer enough at these Euros.
They will stand instead before the semi-final with Italy because they say a new approach is needed to tackle racism.
Read more from Sky News:
Lionesses ‘very optimistic’ Williamson will be fit for semi-final
Team went from sloppy to celebratory in nerve-shredding quarters
Carter didn’t just face racism around the quarter-final that England won on penalties after fighting back from 2-0 down against Sweden here in Zurich.
She has been subjected to abuse throughout the Euros.
“I’m really feeling for Jess and what’s sad is that this is shocking, but not surprising,” Mr Bhandari said.
“I watch every England game, at every tournament, with the fear that after the match, there’s going to be abuse of a black player using the spurious basis of performance as an excuse to justify unjustifiable racism. All racism is unjustifiable.
“The fact that someone’s had a good or bad game in your opinion does not justify that kind of racist abuse.”
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