Controversial influencer Andrew Tate was remanded in custody overnight as part of an investigation into new allegations against him.

He and his brother Tristan were taken away for questioning by the Romanian criminal police DIICOT while the police searched their house.

The internet star was already awaiting trial on rape and human trafficking charges, but he may now face additional charges of sex with a minor and human trafficking of minors, as well as money laundering and attempted witness tampering, prosecutors say.

Andrew and Tristan Tate, who have a huge following on social media, have denied all previous allegations made against them.

They were first arrested in Romania in December 2022 and released from house arrest in August 2023.

According to a statement by DIICOT this morning, four houses were searched in the capital Bucharest and Ilfov County on Wednesday morning.

The brothers were then taken to the DIICOT in Bucharest for questioning and then taken into custody in handcuffs and under armed guard.

They were taken into custody for 24 hours.

According to the brothers’ lawyer, they will be held until prosecutors can ask a judge to either keep them in custody longer, place them under house arrest or release them.

When asked by the BBC what he had to say about the new allegations, Andrew Tate shouted over his shoulder that prosecutors were “desperate”.

“Wait until you see it,” he said. “They say I seduced the mother of my children. We made her have children.”

“This time, ask them what the evidence is.”

He described the file as “more pathetic than the first one.”

On Wednesday morning, the brothers were met by a small crowd of reporters and supporters as they arrived at the DIICOT building in police cars.

As Andrew Tate entered the building, he greeted a local blogger who asked him why he was back at DIICOT. Grinning, Tate replied that he didn’t know, then shouted through the closing door that he was at his “favorite place.”

Two police officers, both wearing balaclavas covering their faces, were seen carrying heavy bags into the same building – presumably containing items seized during a search of the brothers’ home and other belongings.

When asked to comment on the latest developments, her lawyer Eugen Vidineac said the latest allegations were not yet clear as he had not yet seen the file.

He said he did not yet know “what we are dealing with.”

DIICOT officials have 24 hours to question the brothers, after which they must bring them before a judge if they wish to remand them in custody.

The lawyer said he did not expect the brothers to be arrested because their movements were already restricted as they await trial on other charges, including forming an organized criminal group and human trafficking.

In an apparent response to the raid, Andrew Tate posted on X (formerly Twitter): “The Matrix is ​​real. And they have a proven script.”

“Slander is their number one weapon and the trial is their punishment. But unfortunately, in the end, good always wins.”

Andrew Tate describes himself as a misogynist and has previously been banned from social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views.

He has repeatedly claimed that the Romanian prosecutor’s office has no evidence against him and that there is a conspiracy to silence him.

The Tate brothers, former kickboxers with dual British-American citizenship, are accused of exploiting women through an adult content company that prosecutors say operated as a criminal organization.

In addition to the brothers, an indictment published in June last year also named two Romanian comrades and identified seven alleged victims.

The internet personalities are also wanted in the UK in connection with alleged unrelated sexual crimes committed there.