By Associated Press’s JILL LAWLESS
London (AP) On Wednesday, a British court decided that police might confiscate almost 2.6 million pounds ($3.3 million) from influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan in order to pay back years’ worth of unpaid taxes.
The money, which was kept in seven frozen bank accounts, was sought from the Tates and a lady only known as J by the Devon and Cornwall Police force in court.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring of Westminster Magistrates Court determined that the brothers’ financial transactions, which included moving about $12 million into an account under J’s name, constituted a clear deception of the tax authorities.
According to a force attorney, the Tates were habitual tax evaders who, between 2014 and 2022, neglected to pay taxes on 21 million pounds in revenue from their online businesses, which included War Room, Hustlers University, Cobra Tate, and OnlyFans.
The 38-year-old Andrew Tate accused the government of plain stealing after they frozen his accounts and took everything they could.
Tate stated in a statement, “This is not justice; it’s a coordinated attack on anyone who dares to challenge the system.” This calls into question the extent to which authorities will go in order to quell dissent.
During a July hearing, lawyer Sarah Clarke cited a video that Andrew Tate had uploaded to the internet in which he stated: “I refused to pay tax when I lived in England.”
She claimed that J, who is not allowed to be identified due to a court order, had nothing to do with the brothers’ companies.
Martin Evans, the brothers’ attorney, contended that the bank transactions were completely standard procedure for those who manage internet enterprises. He claimed that although the siblings did not commit any crimes, they did spend money on a variety of exotic cars.
Compared to criminal matters, civil processes have a lower burden of proof. On the balance of probabilities, Goldspring had to determine whether the Tates had avoided paying taxes.
The seven accounts that police can now seize have an estimated 2,683,345.88 pounds (about $3.4 million), according to court filings.
A former kickboxer and dual citizen of the United States and Britain, Andrew Tate has accumulated over 10 million followers on X. After being accused of posting hate speech and misogynistic remarks, he was banned from Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.
He and Tristan Tate, 36, facecriminal allegations in Romania, including human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to exploit women. They are set to beextradited to the U.K.once those proceedings are over to face further allegations of rape and human trafficking.
The Tates refute every accusation.
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Associated Press writers Brian Melley in London and Stephen McGrath in Warwick, England contributed to this story.
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