Controversial influencer Andrew Tate laundered millions of pounds through the British bank accounts of a woman linked to an ex-girlfriend, court documents reveal.
An investigation has revealed that the woman, whose accounts were traced to a property in the West Country, transferred as much as $12 million (almost £10 million) through four accounts.
Tate, 38, and his younger brother Tristan, 36, are said to have used the money to fund their lavish lifestyle, which they boast about on social media, including their mansions in Romania and their supercars.
It is estimated that around £1.3 million came from British clients of two of Tate's companies, Hustlers University and The War Room. Both courses are aimed at young men and teach them how to manipulate women into sex work.
According to legal documents seen by The Sunday Times, when police in Britain and Romania began investigating Tate and his brother Tristan in 2022, the woman known only as 'J' moved £805,000 of their money using a cryptocurrency account.
It comes after Devon & Cornwall Police launched a civil case in which it successfully obtained a series of asset forfeiture orders in December.
This allowed them to seize around £2.7 million held in J and the Tate brothers' accounts for the purpose of tax avoidance.
The two brothers are at the center of two Romanian police investigations into alleged sex trafficking, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering. Both strongly deny the allegations.
Controversial influencer Andrew Tate laundered millions of pounds through the British bank accounts of a woman linked to an ex-girlfriend
Andrew Tate waves as he leaves the Bucharest Tribunal with his brother Tristan in Bucharest, Romania on January 9
Last week, Tate's spokesperson revealed that the influencer had been released from house arrest on Tuesday for the first time in five months. The brothers and four other suspects were placed under house arrest as prosecutors launched the second criminal investigation.
A first, separate case was sent back to prosecutors for a second time in December by the Court of Appeal in Bucharest, saying it could not proceed in its current form.
In that case, the brothers were accused of human trafficking and forming an organized group to sexually exploit women. They also deny these claims, as well as the rape and human trafficking claims made against them in Britain.
Now British court files reveal that Tate used his British accounts to pay almost £500,000 to Georgiana Naghel, an alleged accomplice in Romania, believed to be another ex-girlfriend.
Although Tate is no longer under house arrest, he is still subject to travel restrictions.
He is also facing a legal battle with Northern Ireland MP Sorcha Eastwood, whose lawyers announced they would launch proceedings against the Tate brothers over offensive social media posts.
The Sunday Times reports how lawyers representing J won a battle to grant their client anonymity in 2023.
At the time, Devon & Cornwall Police had launched their case that the Tates and J had deliberately tried to conceal £21 million that had passed through seven financial accounts in Britain and Romania.
Andrew Tate imagined leaving the Bucharest court with his brother Tristan, 35, on July 4
Georgiana Naghel, an alleged ex-girlfriend and accomplice of Andrew Tate, is pictured above
It was claimed that two were run by J, four by Andrew and one by Tristan, all of which were frozen.
In July, Sarah Clarke KC, representing the police, said at Westminster Magistrates' Court: 'Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate are serial tax and VAT evaders. They – and especially Andrew Tate – are brazen about it.”
Police said in their application: 'The movement of money defies commercial logic and instead has all the hallmarks of money laundering.'
A judge ruled in December that police could seize £2.7 million on the grounds that the Tates had attempted to defraud the income.
It was discovered that the Tate used J to hide their true income. “J's use was intended to conceal the fact that the money was linked to the brothers for this very reason,” the judge said.
The Sunday Times has discovered how J is linked to Tate through an ex-girlfriend. She is said to have played a major role in his finances, starting with setting up an account in her name on the payment platform Stripe.
Tate, a former kickboxer and Big Brother contestant, rose to fame on social media and found the only audience with his controversial posts about women.
He later began advertising his 'PHD course' – 'Pimping Hoes Degree' – and his Hustlers University Platform, courses aimed at young boys and men.
Around the same time, Tate launched The War Room, which members have to pay £6,500 to be part of.
Police officers escort Andrew Tate (second from left), handcuffed to his brother Tristan Tate, to the Court of Appeal in Bucharest, Romania, on February 1, 2023
The secretive society, which teaches men physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and financial development, has been accused of luring women into online sex work.
Tate also made money from customers who wanted to watch women on webcams. He once claimed he had 75 women working for him, earning him £400,000 a month.
In July 2019, Tate faced allegations of rape and abuse. Police in Hertfordshire passed a file on to the CPS, but they chose not to prosecute.
When J opened her Stripe account, payments started coming in from subscribers of Hustlers University and The War Room. Tate made £10 million in three and a half years, and the money flowed into J's account.
It is said that around £1.3 million comes from UK customers.
The Stripe's cash was then transferred to the Tate's personal accounts, allowing them to finance a life of luxury with supercars such as Bugattis, Lamborghinis and McLarens, as well as two Romanian properties.
Court papers show that the money was also used for surveillance and security, as well as to “pay co-defendants and pay costs related to the crimes for which they are currently charged in Romania.”
It is also alleged that Tate profited from sex work, with £4.7 million transferred between his personal accounts marked 'Rev Only Fans', an apparent reference to the money made from the porn website used by sex workers.
In June 2022, court documents seen by The Sunday Times show that J opened a cryptocurrency account with an exchange called Gemini using her identity document and address.
Tate was also listed as an interested party on the account, which likely allowed him to view an account and withdraw funds.
That same month, Stripe banned Tate's companies.
On the same day, June 22, £805,000 was transferred from J's Stripe account to her personal account, managed by Revolut.
J divided this money into amounts between £1,000 and £100,000 and transferred it to Tate's personal Revolut account.
She also transferred £75,000 to the Gemini account and the same amount to a separate crypto account, also in her name, with the firm Kraken. Further transactions totaling £225,000 were transferred to this account.
Money was later withdrawn from the Gemini account until it was closed in October 2022.
Tate and his brother were arrested in Romania in December 2022.
By the time Devon and Cornwall Police froze all seven accounts, only £2.68 million of the £21 million remained. £1.46 million was in J's Stripe account and £70,000 in her Gemini account.
the Tate brothers did not provide any evidence to refute the filing in court, such as tax returns or financial records.
But their team said the evidence “simply demonstrates the legitimate income from online sites they control and the legitimate and transparent movement of those funds,” which “does not demonstrate any criminality.”
Lawyers for the Tate brothers declined to comment to The Sunday Times.
MailOnline has contacted the Tates' lawyers.
A spokesperson for the brothers said: 'When you speak to power there is a fundamental shift in the practice of 'right'. The crime is no longer here, now find the man.
'It becomes here is the man who now finds the crime. This is a setup.”
A judge concluded that the Tates' “entire financial arrangements are consistent with concerted tax evasion and money laundering” and that the money in the accounts was not declared in Britain or Romania.
Tate said at the time that the ruling was “not fair” and described it as a “coordinated attack.”
Devon & Cornwall Police said: 'From the outset we have sought to prove that Andrew and Tristan Tate have evaded taxes and laundered money through bank accounts in Devon.
'Both individuals are alleged to have concealed the source of their income by channeling money through 'front' accounts, which constituted criminal activity and derived income from crime.
'We will refrain from further comment until the 28-day appeal period has expired.'
