BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Masked police in Romania raided the home of controversial internet influencer Andrew Tate early Wednesday morning as he awaits trial on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
Romania’s anti-organized crime agency DIICOT said it was currently searching four houses in Bucharest and Ilfov counties, investigating allegations of human trafficking, trafficking in minors, sexual intercourse with minors, manipulation of testimony and money laundering. The agency added that hearings would take place later at its headquarters.
Tate’s spokeswoman Mateea Petrescu said in response to the raids that “the charges in the search warrant, while not yet fully clarified, include suspicions of human trafficking and money laundering,” adding that his legal team was present. Petrescu did not address the allegations related to minors.
Dozens of police officers and forensic experts combed Tate’s large estate on the outskirts of the capital Bucharest. “Throughout the criminal proceedings, the persons under investigation benefit from the procedural rights and guarantees of the Criminal Procedure Code, as well as the presumption of innocence,” DIICOT said in its statement.
Andrew Tate, 37, and his brother Tristan, 36, both former kickboxers and British and American citizens who both have millions of followers on social media, were arrested near Bucharest in 2022 along with two Romanian women. Romanian prosecutors officially charged all four last year. They have denied the allegations.
In April, the Bucharest Tribunal ruled that the indictment against the four defendants met the legal criteria and that a process could begin but no date has been set for the trial to begin. This ruling came after the legal case was argued for months in the pre-trial stage, a process in which the accused can challenge the evidence and the prosecution’s files.
After their arrest in 2022, the Tate brothers were held in police custody for three months before being placed under house arrest. Later, their stay was restricted to Bucharest and Ilfov counties and eventually to the whole of Romania.
Last month, a court overturned an earlier decision allowing the Tate brothers to leave Romania while awaiting trial. The previous court ruled on July 5 that they could leave the country as long as they remained within the 27 member states of the European Union. The decision was final.
Andrew Tate, who is known for his misogynistic views online and has 9.9 million followers on social media platform X, has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy to silence him. He has previously been banned from various social media platforms for misogynistic views and hate speech.
In March, the Tate brothers also appeared before the Bucharest Court of Appeal in another case after British authorities issued arrest warrants on allegations of sexual assault in a British case dating from 2012 to 2015. The Court of Appeal granted the British request to extradite the Tates to the United Kingdom, but only after the trial in Romania had been completed.
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McGrath reported from Sibiu, Romania.
