Lawyer calls social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother serial tax evaders

LONDON (AP) — Social media influencer Andrew Tate's taunts over refusing to pay British taxes on millions of pounds in revenue may come back to haunt him and his brother Tristan.

An online video of Tate bragging of never paying taxes when he lived in England was used as evidence against him in a civil court case that was adjourned on Tuesday for two months. Police are seeking 2.8 million pounds ($3.6 million) in unpaid income and value added tax from the brothers' online businesses.

“Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate are serial tax and VAT evaders," attorney Sarah Clarke said. “They, in particular Andrew Tate, are brazen about it.”

Andrew Tate, 37, a former professional kickboxer and dual British-U.S. citizen, and Tristan, 35, were not at the hearing in Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London. They have been barred from leaving the European Union while facing trial in Romania on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.

Last week, a court in Romania ruled that the Tates can leave Romania but must remain within the EU as they await trial.

Clarke, who represents police in Devon and Cornwall in the southwest corner of England, said the brothers and a woman referred to in court as “J” did not pay taxes in any country on 21 million pounds ($26.8 million) in revenue earned between 2014 and 2022.

“When I lived in England I refused to pay tax,” Tate said in a video he posted online that was quoted by Clarke. “Ignore, ignore, ignore because in the end they go away.”

Clarke accused the brothers of laundering money they earned through online businesses that included Only Fans, known for pornography, Hustlers’ University and Cobra Tate. She said they washed the money between a maze of bank accounts.

A lawyer for the Tates countered that bank transfers by the brothers were “entirely orthodox” and that they had bought exotic cars but nothing illegal with their earnings.

Attorney Martin Evans said if the brothers were trying to hide something they did “a singularly bad job” because they put money into accounts in their own names.

A judge adjourned the case and is expected to issue a judgment on Sept. 9.

FILE - Andrew Tate, right, and his brother Tristan laugh as they leave the Bucharest Tribunal in Bucharest, Romania, May 8, 2024. English police accuse social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother of being serial tax evaders in a civil court case in London. Police in Devon and Cornwall are seeking $3.6 million in unpaid taxes on earnings from their online businesses between 2014 and 2022. The Tates were not present for the hearing Tuesday July 9, 2024, in Westminster Magistrates’ Court. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)

FILE - Andrew Tate waits for his hearing inside the Court of Appeals building in Bucharest, Romania, June 26, 2024. English police accuse social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother of being serial tax evaders in a civil court case in London. Police in Devon and Cornwall are seeking $3.6 million in unpaid taxes on earnings from their online businesses between 2014 and 2022. The Tates were not present for the hearing Tuesday July 9, 2024, in Westminster Magistrates’ Court. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)

FILE - Andrew Tate walks inside the Court of Appeals building in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, May 30, 2024. A court in Romania's capital on Friday, July 5, 2024 ruled that the online influencer Andrew Tate can leave Romanian territory providing he remains within the European Union, as he awaits trial on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru, File)

SAO PAULO (AP) — The Brazilian Football Confederation will pick a new president shortly before it introduces Real Madrid's Carlo Ancelotti as the new national coach.

CBF vice president Fernando Sarney, who was named by a judge as the caretaker president after Ednaldo Rodrigues was removed from office, announced on Friday that the vote will take place on May 25, the same day as the last round of the Spanish league.

When Rodrigues was in charge, Ancelotti was expected to arrive the next day at the CBF headquarters in Rio de Janeiro to announce his squad for two World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in June. The coach has confirmed his move to Brazil at the end of La Liga but has not mentioned when he arrives.

The CBF election will also include eight vice president positions.

“The management of the electoral process will be under the responsibility of an independent electoral commission,” Sarney said in a statement.

Rio-based judge Gabriel de Oliveira Zefiro removed Rodrigues from the presidency on Thursday and ordered new elections “as soon as possible.” The embattled soccer executive is appealing to the country’s Supreme Court to keep his position.

Rodrigues announced the signing of Ancelotti as Brazil coach on Monday. He won re-election in March to remain on the job until March 2030.

Zefiro put Sarney, who asked the court to unseat Rodrigues, in charge of organizing new elections. The judge ruled the agreement that validated Rodrigues’ first term was null and void, and that without it Rodrigues should not have been eligible for his second term.

Sarney told TV Globo on Thursday he will not touch Brazil’s deal with Ancelotti.

It is the second time Rodrigues has been removed from office by a court decision. A similar move took place in December 2023 but the removal was reversed by Brazil’s Supreme Court.

Because of that earlier legal dispute, the confederation vice presidents reached an agreement in January to validate Rodrigues’ first term and clear the way for him to run again.

But Zefiro sided with Sarney, who claimed one of the signatories of the deal, the 86-year-old Antonio Carlos Nunes, was not mentally fit to sign the agreement. The court scheduled to hear Nunes on Monday to evaluate his mental state, but the hearing was suspended only hours after Ancelotti was signed.

Rodrigues has made no comment.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - President of the Football Associated of Brazil Ednaldo Rodrigues, gives a speech after Brazil was chosen to host the 2027 Women's World Cup, at the FIFA Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, May 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)