'Ignore, ignore, ignore': Andrew Tate brags about refusing to pay taxes in resurfaced video - as police to seize over £2million

19 December 2024, 16:22 | Updated: 19 December 2024, 16:29

A video clip of controversial influencer Andrew Tate bragging about refusing to pay his taxes has resurfaced following the news police have seized more than £2 million from him.

Devon and Cornwall Police successfully seized £2.8 million from Tate and his brother Tristan in relation to unpaid tax on £21 million of revenue.

The force's bid to confiscate funds follows claims the pair owe millions in unpaid tax, with Chief Magistrate ruling in favour of the force at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

The force's lawyers claimed the brothers failed to pay tax on £21 million of revenue from their online businesses.

The pair will now forfeit the money over the unpaid tax bill, with funds held in seven frozen bank accounts under the Tates' names and a woman identified only as 'J'.

Ruling at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring ordered confiscation of the funds.

Andrew Tate said the ruling was "not justice" and called it a "co-ordinated attack".

Now, a video of the influencer boasting about ignoring letters and demands from HMRC when he lived in the UK has resurfaced where he encourages others to "ignore, ignore, ignore" and admits he doesn't "fill in forms".

'Ignore, ignore, ignore'

Representing Devon & Cornwall Police, Ms Clarke KC quoted from a video posted by the online influencer.

In the rant, Tate says: "If you refuse to comply permanently you will be amazed how far you can get as an individual. I mean let me give an example.

"My tax affairs are fully in order in Romania because I pay 3%.

"When I lived in England I refused to pay tax because it’s 40%.

"So they started sending me letters and threatening me.

"You know what you do You know what most people would do.

"Reply to the letters, get a clever accountant. Guess what I did? Ignore the letters.

"Ignore ignore ignore.

"Then they started sending people to my house.

‘Where’s Andrew? ‘He’s not here!’

"Ignore, ignore, ignore.

"There becomes a point where there’s a cost benefit analysis.

"‘We don’t know where this guy is? ‘We don’t even know how much money he has.

"‘We don’t know if he’s gonna pay.

"'He might have left the country. This is a waste of our time.

"And they give up because everyone’s a coward and they fill in forms.

"I don’t fill in forms.

"No! If you want my money come get it."

Which is now exactly HMRC have done.

Following the ruling, Tate said he had been the victim of "the matrix".

"It's a coordinated attack on anyone who dares to challenge the system," he said in a statement.

"Speak against the matrix, and they'll come for your freedom, your reputation, and your livelihood."

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In his judgment handed down on Wednesday, Chief Magistrate Goldspring said what appeared to be a "complex financial matrix" was actually a "straightforward cheat of the revenue".

The court previously heard the brothers paid just under $12 million into an account in the name of J, and opened a second account in her name, even though she had no role in their businesses.

Part of the money the force applied to seize was cryptocurrency held in an account in J's name.

J received a payment of £805,000 into her Revolut account, the court previously heard.

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

Speaking at an earlier hearing in July, Sarah Clarke KC, representing Devon and Cornwall Police, told Westminster Magistrates’ Court that the brothers are “serial tax and VAT evaders”.

The brothers own a number of online businesses including War Room, Hustlers’ University, Cobra Tate and OnlyFans, with claims they failed to pay tax between 2014 and 2022.

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The Tates are facing a series of separate, criminal allegations in Romania, and are set to be extradited to the UK once those proceedings are concluded to face further accusations here.

They are accused of human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to exploit women in one case in Romania, in which Andrew Tate is also accused of rape.

A second more recent set of human trafficking charges saw a fleet of luxury cars towed away from their home in the Romanian capital, Bucharest.

Bedfordshire Police secured an international arrest warrant for the brothers relating to allegations of rape and human trafficking dating back to 2012-2015, which they deny.

Andrew Tate has been banned from TikTok, YouTube and Facebook after the platforms accused him of posting hate speech and misogynistic comments, including that women should bear responsibility for being sexually assaulted.

But he remains popular on X, with almost 10 million followers, many of them young men and schoolchildren.

In July, senior police officers in the UK warned that influencers like Andrew Tate could radicalise social media followers into extreme misogyny in the same way that terrorists draw in their followers.