More than a year after police seized nearly £2.9 million from social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan, Devon and Cornwall Police have announced that over £1 million of those funds will be used to support projects aimed at tackling violence against women and girls. The decision, confirmed by police in December 2025, marks a significant turn in a saga that began with a high-profile court battle and has since raised questions about justice, accountability, and the power of restitution.
According to multiple reports, including coverage by BBC and regional outlets, the Tate brothers were the subject of a major civil forfeiture order in December 2024. The order was granted after Devon and Cornwall Police successfully argued in Westminster Magistrates’ Court that the pair had failed to pay tax on £21 million of revenue generated from their online businesses between 2014 and 2022. The court heard that neither tax nor VAT had been paid on these earnings, which were laundered through bank accounts based in Devon. Police also revealed that the Tates had attempted to obscure the origins of their funds by routing money through so-called ‘front’ accounts, a tactic the court deemed criminal and which rendered the earnings proceeds of crime.
Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring, presiding over the case, was unequivocal in his assessment. He stated he was satisfied of the "overall criminality of deliberate and dishonest cheat of the revenue," adding that the brothers had "engaged in long-standing conduct to evade their tax." The court’s ruling allowed police to seize funds frozen in seven bank accounts, as well as a £180,000 deposit Andrew Tate had placed on an Aston Martin supercar. That deposit was traced back to a Coinbase cryptocurrency account holding funds derived from the brothers’ business activities, according to statements presented in court by Sarah Clarke KC, legal counsel for Devon and Cornwall Police.
The businesses at the center of the investigation included War Room, Hustlers’ University, Cobra Tate, and OnlyFans. Court documents revealed complex money transfers, including a payment of £805,000 to a woman referred to as 'J', with £495,000 of that sum funneled directly to Andrew Tate and £75,000 converted into cryptocurrency. The intricate web of transactions, combined with the lack of tax payments, painted a picture of systematic financial misconduct.
Following the landmark ruling, Devon and Cornwall Police pledged to reinvest a significant portion of the seized assets back into the local community. "Our work to seize the money from the Tate brothers was diligent and showed our commitment to not allowing criminality to operate in Devon and Cornwall," a police spokesperson said, as reported by several outlets. "While a sum of the seized money has been returned to the Treasury, a significant sum has come back to the force locally to reinvest. We have decided this money will be reinvested into projects which focus on our commitment to battle violence against women and girls and support our newly launched VAWG [Violence Against Women and Girls] reduction strategy."
To ensure transparency and community involvement, the force has established a panel tasked with identifying which projects and initiatives will benefit from the recovered funds. The panel’s mandate is to support both preventative and victim support efforts, with a particular emphasis on long-term impact. "Throughout the coming months we intend to show our communities how these funds can make a difference and support our communities in taking a stand against those perpetrating abuse and putting those funds at the heart of victim support," the spokesperson added.
The move has been welcomed by local officials and advocates. In January 2025, Devon and Cornwall Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez expressed her hope that some of the seized funds would be directed toward efforts to combat violence against women and girls. The police’s confirmation that over £1 million will be used for this purpose has been seen as a concrete step toward fulfilling that promise.
The Tates’ legal troubles, however, are far from over. Andrew Tate, who first rose to fame on the British version of Big Brother in 2016 before being removed from the show after just six days, now faces a slew of criminal and civil proceedings in several countries, including the United Kingdom. In May 2025, the Crown Prosecution Service announced that it had authorized 21 charges against the brothers after receiving a file of evidence from Bedfordshire police. Andrew Tate faces 10 charges—including rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking, and controlling prostitution for gain—connected to three alleged victims. Tristan Tate faces 11 charges, including rape and human trafficking, linked to one alleged victim. Both men deny all allegations.
Bedfordshire police obtained a European arrest warrant for the brothers in 2024, but extradition proceedings have been delayed pending the outcome of separate legal cases in Romania. Meanwhile, Andrew Tate’s public profile remains divisive. Banned from platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook for hate speech and misogynistic content—including statements that women should bear responsibility for being sexually assaulted—he nevertheless retains a massive following on X (formerly Twitter), where nearly 11 million users, many of them young men and schoolchildren, continue to engage with his content.
In response to the court’s ruling and subsequent asset seizure, Andrew Tate has maintained his innocence, characterizing the proceedings as a coordinated attack against those who challenge the status quo. "It's a coordinated attack on anyone who dares to challenge the system," he said, further describing the seizure as "outright theft." Tate has repeatedly denied all allegations of sexual and human trafficking, insisting that he is the victim of a witch hunt orchestrated by what he calls "the matrix."
Despite these protests, the legal findings against the Tates have been clear. The court’s decision to classify their earnings as criminal proceeds, coupled with the force’s commitment to reinvesting the funds in community projects, has been widely covered by the media. The seized assets, now earmarked for initiatives combating violence against women and girls, represent both a punitive measure and a form of restorative justice—redirecting ill-gotten gains toward social good.
As the newly established panel begins its work and local organizations prepare to apply for funding, Devon and Cornwall Police have pledged to keep the public informed about how the money is spent and the impact it has on the community. The coming months will reveal which projects receive support and how the funds will be used to challenge abuse, support victims, and foster a safer environment for women and girls across the region.
The story of the Tate brothers’ seized millions is a testament to the power of legal action to not only punish wrongdoing but also to catalyze positive change. It’s a rare case where the proceeds of crime are being transformed into a resource for justice and prevention, offering hope that even the darkest chapters can yield a measure of good for those most in need of protection.
