BBC News, South West
EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockA total of £180,000 has been seized by Devon and Cornwall Police from Andrew Tate over a deposit he placed on an Aston Martin supercar.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard on Thursday the controversial British-American influencer paid the deposit for a special-edition Valhalla vehicle in 2021.
The cash came from tax evasion and money laundering, the force said, which obtained account freezing and forfeiture orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Tate and his brother Tristan did not oppose the orders.
The sum can be added to the £2.7m of funds seized from the brothers by the force in December 2024 after the same court ruled they failed to pay tax on £21m of revenue from online businesses.
Some of the revenue in that case was directly linked by detectives to allegations of human trafficking that the brothers face in Romania.
‘No tax paid’
Sarah Clarke KC, on behalf of Devon and Cornwall Police, told the judge on Thursday that the funds used to pay the supercar deposit were the proceeds of tax and VAT evasion and money laundering.
She said funds deposited with Aston Martin originally came from a Coinbase cryptocurrency account, which had held multiple cryptocurrencies purchased with funds derived from the Tate brothers’ business activities.
No tax or VAT had been paid on the funds, she added.
Det Supt Jon Bancroft, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: “This latest judgement follows on from our applications made against the Tate brothers which resulted in a successful ruling in December 2024 and the forfeiture of nearly £2.7m of criminal funds.
“From the outset we aimed to demonstrate that Andrew and Tristan Tate evaded their tax obligations and laundered money. We succeeded in doing exactly that and we have succeeded again this week.
“People in Devon and Cornwall will benefit from the money seized and it will be reinvested to help prevent crime, aid victims and vulnerable people, and to boost good causes.”
He added the outcome showed how the police would continue to “relentlessly pursue all criminal funds without fear or favour”.
