Bank transfers made by controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan were “entirely orthodox”, their lawyer has said.
The Tate brothers have been accused of failing to pay tax in any country on £21m of revenue from their online businesses earned between 2014 and 2022.
Devon and Cornwall Police force is bringing a civil claim for unpaid tax against the brothers and a third person identified only as J.
The force has applied for around £2.8m in seven frozen bank accounts to be forfeited.
Sarah Clarke KC, for the force, told the court that on Monday that money had been “washed” around a huge number of UK bank accounts.
She said: “That’s what tax evasion looks like, that’s what money laundering looks like.”
Ms Clarke also said in court: “Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate are serial tax and VAT evaders.
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“They, in particular Andrew Tate, are brazen about it.”
Martin Evans KC, the lawyer defending the brothers, said today that it was normal that a number of payments were made out of their Stripe account – a payment platform used to deal with revenue from their online businesses.
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He told the court: “What happened was entirely orthodox.
“There’s no mystery, for any internet sales there has to be some form of merchant provider or payment platform.”
Image: The brothers laughed after leaving a court in Bucharest, Romania, in May. Pic: AP
If the Tate brothers had wanted to distance themselves from the money, they did “a singularly bad job” because they moved it into accounts in their own names, he added.
The brothers spent money on a number of “exotic motor cars” but nothing illegal, he told the court.
“My point is not to start sounding like Jeremy Clarkson, but rather to make a point that’s what they were doing with the money. They weren’t buying drugs or anything else,” he said.
Devon and Cornwall Police accuse the brothers of opening a Stripe account in J’s name in 2019 even though she had no role in their businesses.
Money made from the brothers’ online businesses – War Room, Hustler’s University, Cobra Tate and sites they have on OnlyFans – were paid into one of Andrew Tate’s bank accounts.
Read more:Court rules Andrew Tate can leave Romania
Stripe was unable to provide the proof of identity and address given to open the account in J’s name in February 2019, when an incorrect date of birth was given, the court heard.
In October 2019, Andrew Tate’s driving licence was provided, and J’s was given in June this year.
Gary Pons, a lawyer for J, argued that cryptocurrency held in a Gemini account in her name cannot legally be forfeited.
The hearing was adjourned until 9 September, when judgment is expected to be given by Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring.
Source : Sky News
