Self-proclaimed misogynist ‘brazen’ about refusing to pay tax on revenue from online businesses, court told
Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan, have been accused of failing to pay tax on £21m of revenue from their online businesses.
Devon and Cornwall police are bringing a civil claim against the brothers and a third person referred to as J over unpaid tax, Westminster magistrates’ court heard on Monday. The force is seeking about £2.8m in seven frozen bank accounts.
Sarah Clarke KC for Devon and Cornwall police said: “Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate are serial tax and VAT evaders. They, in particular Andrew Tate, are brazen about it.”
It is claimed that they paid no tax in any country on £21m revenue from businesses online earned between 2014 and 2022. Clarke quoted from a video posted online by Andrew Tate, in which the self-proclaimed misogynist said: “When I lived in England I refused to pay tax.”
The court heard he said his approach was “ignore, ignore, ignore because in the end they go away”. The court also heard that the brothers had a “huge number of bank accounts” in the UK, seven of which have been frozen.
He’s not a good person but some of the things he says are things that almost every young man resonates with. Feeling worthless, being lonely, wanting something to strive for, having no purpose, the feeling that life is unfair to you but you can’t complain, or social stuff is hard.
It’s not the solutions he proposed that made him popular, but the problems he raised.
Now let’s be clear here, he’s a slimy criminal with a ton of different schemes running concurrently, but at face value we still haven’t found the time to address the problems he raised. The void he leaves is exploitable unless we get someone righteous who takes his place to inspire young men. And no, I don’t think there’s role models right now that can take his place, at least not with that reach or that charisma.