Tate’s story has taken yet another twist recently with the emergence of a YouTube video in which he is allegedly seen boasting about using Bitcoin (BTC) to bypass taxes.
In the video, Tate shamelessly confesses to a variety of unlawful activities including fraud and tax evasion. These clips were compiled by renowned YouTube figure and criminal lawyer Bruce Rivers for legal scrutiny.
In the footage, Tate proudly flaunts his turquoise sweater while boasting about how he manipulated sex workers and evaded taxes with Bitcoin.
Reportedly, the ex-kickboxer has earned a whopping $600,000 every month from his flourishing online webcam business that employs 75 sex workers worldwide.
Rivers posted a video wherein Tate appears to explain how to circumvent traditional banking and dodge taxes by taking benefit of Chaturbate – an adult live-streaming platform with cryptocurrency disbursement for performers’ services.
“Another reason to use Chaturbate is because they will pay you in Bitcoin. This is amazing because …trying to get money out of these sites into your bank without paying a shitload of tax is actually very difficult…Let’s say you generate three, four thousand dollars. Bang! You get bitcoin into your wallet, done. No fucking tax…none of that shit.” Tate stated in a video
His words demonstrate an undeniable truth that international monetary officials have sought to emphasize – that while Bitcoin is a revolutionary advancement of our era, it does not exempt users from the law and any form of income received in BTC is taxable for most countries.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has recently clarified that any payment made with bitcoin (BTC) or other cryptocurrencies is classed as employment income.
The IRS states that remuneration can take many forms, but what matters is the fair market value of said compensation.
Undoubtedly, Tate may have been referring to activities outside of the United States; yet, his British-American dual citizenship could still leave him vulnerable to taxation.
Andrew Tate’s BTC wallet uncovered
Recently, news website Protos found a Bitcoin wallet belonging to Tate. Blockchain information indicates that the wallet has 8 BTC at present and had received more than 114 BTC (roughly $2.6 million) since August 2021. Funds have been steadily moved out of the account in various transactions; one transaction for about 6.5BTC made on December 12th, 2022 was particularly noteworthy.
As reported by Forbes, Tate has made Romania his home since 2017.
“Romania is very far behind other countries” when it comes to the adoption of cryptocurrency and creating a legal framework for blockchain-based payments, Stefan Loredan told CoinDesk in an interview.
Loredan is a Romanian lawyer and CEO of Onelink Solutions, a legal advisory firm. “We are so far behind. I think it will happen in the next 10, 15, or 20 years. But as of now, there are no regulations and there are no laws which involve crypto.”