Andrew Tate Placed Under House Arrest As New Human Trafficking Allegations Emerge Involving Minors

BUCHAREST, Romania — A court in Romania’s capital on Thursday placed polarising online influencer Andrew Tate under house arrest for 30 days as prosecutors investigate a broad new case involving claims of human trafficking and sex with a minor.

The Bucharest Tribunal’s judgment came a day after prosecutors detained six persons, including Tate, 37, and his brother Tristan Tate, 36, during masked police raids on four homes in Bucharest and surrounding Ilfov county. Prosecutors urged the court to put the brothers in jail for 30 days. Tristan has been placed under judicial supervision, which usually entails geographical limits and occasional reporting to the police.

Mateea Petrescu, the brothers’ spokesperson, responded to the decision by saying the judge denied prosecutors’ request due to the brothers’ “exemplary behaviour” while previously under preventative arrest in a separate case. The brothers firmly deny all of the allegations against them and “remain steadfast in proving their innocence.”

Andrew Tate Placed Under House Arrest As New Human Trafficking Allegations Emerge Involving Minors

The Tate brothers, both former kickboxers and dual British-American nationals, are currently awaiting trial in Romania in a separate human trafficking case alongside two Romanian women. Last year, Romanian prosecutors formally accused all four.

In the current case, Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, announced that it is looking into charges of human trafficking, including minor trafficking, sexual intercourse with a minor, formation of an organized criminal gang, money laundering, and influencing statements. The alleged crimes occurred between 2014 and 2024.

DIICOT stated that the defendants utilized the coercive “loverboy” tactic to abuse 34 vulnerable victims who were compelled to make pornographic materials for a charge online and that the defendants took more than $2.8 million (2.5 million euros) of the proceeds.

DIICOT alleges that an unnamed foreign guy sexually exploited a 17-year-old foreigner and pocketed the $1.5 million (1.3 million euros) earned from the illicit activities. The same male “repeatedly had sexual relations and acts” with a 15-year-old, the agency said.

Outside the court, after the judge imposed his home arrest order, Andrew  informed reporters that many of the claimed victims in the current case have testified in the Tate brothers’ defense. “This is a set-up, it’s absolutely disgusting, fair play to that judge who saw through the bullshit and let us free,” he went on.

Andrew, who has 9.9 million followers on the social networking site X, is well-known for voicing misogynistic views online. He has frequently stated that authorities have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy to suppress him. He has already been banned from several social media platforms due to his misogynistic ideas and hate speech.

“During the entire criminal process, the investigated persons benefit from the procedural rights and guarantees provided by the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as the presumption of innocence,” according to DIICOT.

During Wednesday’s police operations, which included searching the Tate brothers’ vast property near Bucharest, investigators seized 16 luxury vehicles, a motorbike, laptops, thousands of euros in cash, fancy watches and data storage devices.

The latest case against the Tate family adds to their long list of legal difficulties.

Andrew Tate Placed Under House Arrest As New Human Trafficking Allegations Emerge Involving Minors

Following their arrest in December 2022, the Tate brothers were kept in police custody for three months before being sent to home arrest. They were then restricted to Bucharest municipality, the neighboring Ilfov county, and then to Romania.

In April, the Bucharest Tribunal determined that the prosecutors’ case file against them met the legal conditions and that a trial could commence, but no date was established.

Last month, a court overruled an earlier ruling that permitted the Tate brothers to leave Romania while awaiting trial. The previous court ruled on July 5 that they might leave the country if they remained part of the 27-member European Union. The decision was finalized.

In March, the Tate brothers appeared in a separate case at the Bucharest Court of Appeal after British authorities filed arrest warrants for claims of sexual violence in a 2012-2015 case in the United Kingdom. The appeals court granted the British request to extradite the Tates to the United Kingdom, but only after the legal proceedings in Romania were completed.

SOURCE | AP