A Romanian court has extended the house arrest of Andrew Tate, a 36-year-old social media personality, charged with rape, human trafficking, and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. The decision comes days after prosecutors formally indicted Tate and his co-defendants, including his brother Tristan, in a Bucharest court. The four defendants, including two Romanian women, will remain under house arrest for 30 days, with the possibility of appeal within 48 hours. Andrew Tate, known for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech, was initially arrested in late December near Romania’s capital, along with his brother Tristan, and has since been accused of leading a criminal group that trafficked women from the US and the UK to Romania, where they were subjected to physical violence and sexual exploitation.
The Romanian anti-organised crime agency, DIICOT, filed its criminal investigation in a Bucharest court, alleging that the defendants formed a criminal group in 2021 to commit human trafficking and rape. The agency claims that seven female victims were lured with false promises of love and transported to Romania, where they were sexually exploited and subjected to physical violence. One defendant is accused of raping a woman twice in March 2022, according to DIICOT. The women were allegedly controlled by intimidation, constant surveillance, and claims they were in debt.
Andrew Tate (Via Andrew Tate/Twitter)
Andrew and Tristan Tate are British-US citizens who have denied the allegations. They previously won an appeal to be moved to house arrest after spending three months in police detention. Tate has claimed that prosecutors have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy to silence his views. In a video posted on his Twitter account, Tate labelled the charges against him as a “level 10 matrix attack” and said: “They’re trying to destroy me without evidence.”
Tate has also been accused of spreading conspiracy theories and has been sued by several women in Britain who claim they were victims of sexual violence. During the investigations, prosecutors ordered the confiscation of the Tate brothers’ assets, including 15 luxury cars, watches, and about £2.3 million in cryptocurrency. The investigation is ongoing, with judges having 60 days to decide whether the case will go to trial.
