These days, it may feel like terrible people are constantly rewarded for being horrible, but that isn't always the case. Accused rapist and sex trafficker Andrew Tate, for example, won't be getting an Aston Martin Valhalla after UK cops seized his £180,000 (roughly $243,000 at current exchange rates) deposit over accusations of tax evasion and money laundering, the Independent reports. That brings the total the UK has seized from the Tate brothers since December 2024 to £2.7 million (about $3.6 million).
According to the court, the money for the Valhalla came from a Coinbase crypto account that held several cryptocurrencies, all of which were purchased with money made from the brothers' other businesses. In addition to allegedly being laundered, the Tates also reportedly hadn't paid any taxes on those funds. In a statement, Detective Superintendent Jon Bancroft 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 £2.7 million 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. This further successful outcome shows how we will relentlessly pursue all criminal funds without fear or favour.
Considering Tate faces a civil trial in the UK next summer for raping and abusing four women and is also being prosecuted in Romania for sex trafficking minors, statutory rape and money laundering, while dealing with other legal issues so extensive there's an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to them, losing out on an Aston Martin feels pretty insignificant, but it's still nice to see Tate face some actual consequences for his actions.
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Aston Martin Valhalla
If you're having trouble remembering the Valhalla, that might be because we first saw the concept all the way back in 2019, but production won't actually begin until later this year. Aston has said it only plans to build 999 of these plug-in-hybrid supercars, each of which will start around $1 million. You can definitely see a lot of the Valkyrie in the design, but the Valhalla's powertrain is definitely less exciting.
Sure, it makes 1,064 horsepower and 811 pound-feet of torque, which by any measure is a heck of a lot of power, but it uses an AMG-sourced twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8, not a glorious, naturally aspirated V12 like the Valkyrie. If you like your hybrids with multiple motors, though, the Valhalla is definitely the one to get. While the Valkyrie's V12 is paired with an electric motor to make 1,160 hp, the Valhalla's hybrid system uses three motors. It's still a properly quick supercar, though, hitting 60 mph in less than 2.5 seconds.
While the Valhalla is a plug-in hybrid, you won't be driving it all over town on electric power alone, unless you live in a seriously small town. That's because, with a 6-kWh battery, its electric range is limited to only about nine miles. So for that reason, and that reason alone, I will not be buying one. That does mean I now have something in common with Andrew Tate, but I'm also not facing decades in prison for committing horrible crimes, so I'm also not too torn up about it.
H/T: CarScoops
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