British police can seize €3.1m in unpaid tax from Tate brothers, court rules

The controversial influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate have lost a UK court case over unpaid tax, allowing British police to seize £2.6 million (€3.1m) of their money from seven frozen bank accounts.

The Devon and Cornwall Police force that brought the case claimed the Tates were “serial” tax avoiders who had not paid any tax on £21m (€25.4m) of earnings between 2014 and 2022.

The revenue came from their online businesses, including Cobra Tate, OnlyFans, Hustlers’ University and War Room.

Most of the frozen bank accounts are in their name. However, one, which received a transfer of €11.4m from the brothers, is in the name of a woman identified only as J.

Announcing the verdict on Wednesday at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Paul Goldspring, the chief magistrate, said the Tates had engaged in a “straightforward cheat” of the British tax authorities.

“I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that they have engaged in long-standing, deliberate conduct in order to evade their tax,” Goldspring ruled.

He added that “they had not so much as registered to pay or account for tax, whether personal or otherwise, let alone paid any tax."

The proceedings were civil — not criminal, which would have required a higher standard of proof.

In a statement responding to the court decision, Andrew Tate, 38, said: “This is not justice; it's a coordinated attack on anyone who dares to challenge the system.”

The former professional kickboxer also wrote a series of tweets decrying the decision.

“When they fail to control your influence, they audit your influence,” Tate wrote on X on Wednesday afternoon. “When they fail to match your power, they nitpick your paperwork,” he added.

At a hearing earlier this year, attorney Sarah Clarke quoted an online video in which the 38-year-old admitted that he “refused to pay tax” while living in England.

Tate and his brother Tristan, 36, face criminal allegations in both Romania and the UK. They were arrested by Romanian authorities in 2022 and were charged the following year for alleged offences, including human trafficking and being part of a criminal gang that exploited women.

The brothers are due to be extradited to the UK once the Romanian proceedings finish. British police accuse them of human trafficking and rape committed between 2012 and 2015.

The Tates deny all the charges.

In July, senior British police officer Maggie Blyth warned of the dangers of social media influencers like Andrew Tate, saying they were radicalising boys into extreme misogyny.

Blyth described the situation as “quite terrifying”, while the UK’s National Police Chiefs Council called it a “national emergency”.