Social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have been accused of failing to pay a penny in tax on £21 million of revenue from their online businesses.

Devon and Cornwall Police are bringing a civil claim against the brothers and a third person referred to only as J over unpaid tax, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard on Monday.

The force is seeking around £2.8 million 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.”

Andrew Tate walking in front of his brother Tristan
Andrew Tate, left, and his brother Tristan, had a ‘huge number of bank accounts’ in the UK, the court heard (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

It is claimed that they paid no tax in any country on £21 million revenue from businesses online earned between 2014 and 2022.

Ms Clarke quoted from a video posted online by Andrew Tate, in which he 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.

Ms Clarke said that money “washed around UK bank accounts”, that were used “as a mechanism for moving revenues from their business activities through a wide number of accounts”.

“That’s what tax evasion looks like, that’s what money laundering looks like,” she told the court.

The money came from products they sold online as well as their OnlyFans sites, the court was told.

The front of Westminster Magistrates' Court
The hearing was held at Westminster Magistrates’ Court (Rick Findler/PA)

The Tates are accused of failing to pay tax and money laundering in both the UK and Romania, the court heard.

It is claimed that the brothers paid just under 12 million US dollars into an account in J’s name, and opened a second account in her name, even though she had no role in their businesses.

Devon and Cornwall Police allege that this was fraud by false misrepresentation.

Money from Cobra Tate, Hustlers’ University and War Room was paid into the first account, held with Stripe, and the majority of payments out went to one of Andrew Tate’s accounts, the court heard.

It was opened in February 2019 in J’s name with an incorrect date of birth, and later driving licences belonging to both Andrew Tate and J were submitted as proof of identity and address to the payment service provider – Tate in October 2019 and J in June 2022.

The proceedings are civil, which uses a lower standard of proof than criminal cases.

Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring will decide on the balance of probabilities whether what the police claim is true.

J also moved money through her own account, including one payment of £805,000 that was made to her Revolut account, the court heard.

Of this £495,000 was paid to Andrew Tate, and £75,000 to an account in J’s name that was later converted to cryptocurrency, it is alleged.

Gary Pons, for J, argued that the funds in the Gemini account were in cryptocurrency and therefore could not be frozen at that time.

The case was adjourned until Tuesday.