BUCHAREST, Romania — Masked police officials in Romania raided the home of contentious internet personality Andrew Tate, who is facing charges of human trafficking, rape, and organizing a criminal group to sexually exploit women.
DIICOT, Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, said it was inspecting four homes in Bucharest and surrounding Ilfov county for evidence of human trafficking, trafficking of children, sexual intercourse with a minor, influencing statements, and money laundering. According to the statement, Hearings will be at the agency’s headquarters.
Police Raid Andrew Tate’s Home In Romania As New Allegations Emerge Involving Minors
Mateea Petrescu, Andrew’s spokesperson, stated in response to the raids that “although the charges in the search warrant are not yet fully clarified, they include suspicions of human trafficking and money laundering” and that his legal team is present. Petrescu did not respond to the charges concerning kids.
Dozens of police officers and forensic investigators were combing Andrew’s sprawling estate on the outskirts of Bucharest. “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.
Andrew, 37, and his brother Tristan, 36, both former kickboxers and dual British-US nationals with millions of social media followers, were detained near Bucharest in 2022, along with two Romanian ladies. Last year, Romanian prosecutors formally accused all four. They’ve disputed the charges.
As the Tate brothers were led from their home to a police vehicle outside, Andrew complained to reporters that the investigation was moving too slowly. “I’m not sure what I did wrong,” he said.
Andrew is well-known for voicing misogynistic ideas online, with 9.9 million followers on the social networking platform X. 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.
In April, the Bucharest Tribunal determined that the prosecutors’ case file against the four matched the legal conditions and that a trial could commence, but no date was assigned. That decision came after the legal matter had been argued for months in the preliminary chamber stages, which allow defendants to contest prosecutors’ evidence and case files.
After being arrested in 2022, the Tate brothers were detained by authorities for three months before being placed under home arrest. They were then limited to the Bucharest and Ilfov counties and eventually to all of Romania.
Police Raid Andrew Tate’s Home In Romania As New Allegations Emerge Involving Minors
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
