Tax debts

Tate brothers must pay millions of pounds

Between 2014 and 2022, the Tates paid no tax on income totaling 21 million pounds from online platforms.(Bild: AP)

Controversial influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have not paid taxes in the UK for years. As a result, the police in south-west England can now confiscate more than two million pounds (around 2.4 million euros) of their assets, which had previously been frozen. This was decided by a court in London in the absence of the brothers.

Criminal proceedings are currently underway against Andrew and Tristan Tate in Romania. They are accused of abusing and exploiting women. The brothers deny this. They are not allowed to leave Romania while the proceedings are ongoing. They could then be extradited to the UK, where they are accused of similar crimes.

21 million pounds not taxed
However, the current civil proceedings in London had nothing to do with the criminal allegations. Rather, the Tates did not pay tax on income totaling 21 million pounds from online platforms between 2014 and 2022.

As a result, the police had already frozen several accounts belonging to the brothers and a woman who had received money from them. Part of the sum consists of cryptocurrencies held under the woman's name. In his ruling, Judge Paul Goldspring emphasized that the allegedly complex financial structure that the brothers had set up was in fact a case of "outright tax avoidance".

Excluded from many platforms - but not from X
Andrew Tate is banned from social media such as TikTok, Facebook and YouTube because of his content. He is still allowed to post on tech billionaire Elon Musk's platform X, where he has around 10.4 million followers.

Police and schools in the UK have warned that influencers like Tate could radicalize young men and teenagers in particular to extreme misogyny and compared the method to terrorists.