Internet influencer Andrew Tate was placed under house arrest for 30 days by a judge in a Romanian court as prosecutors investigated a new case pertaining to allegations of human trafficking. Tate, who has found himself embroiled in similar controversies in the past, was among six people taken into custody in the probe into human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
In 2023, Andrew Tate, along with his brother Tristan and two associates, faced charges of rape, human trafficking, and forming an organised crime group to exploit women sexually.
The latest decision by the Bucharest Tribunal came a day after prosecutors detained six people, including Tate, 37, and his brother Tristan Tate, 36, as reported by news agency AP. Tate’s arrest came after Romania’s anti-organised crime prosecuting unit, Diicot, carried out raids at his four homes in Bucharest and nearby Ilfov County.
Prosecutors had asked the court to remand the brothers in custody for 30 days. The Internet influencer's brother Tristan, according to AP, is under judicial control, which usually entails geographic limitations and regular reporting to the police.
Who Is Andrew Tate?
Andrew Tate is a former professional kickboxer who gained popularity and garnered millions of followers on social media by promoting an ultra-masculine lifestyle, according to a Reuters report. He and his brother Tristan were previously indicted in mid-2023, along with two Romanian women, for human trafficking, rape, and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
The allegations were later denied by the brothers. Before their latest detention, the two had been subject to a travel ban. As a part of the ban, the two brothers were free to travel within Romania but were not allowed to leave the country, as per the Reuters report.
As far as the latest case is concerned, Diicot said that it had ordered the detention of six people for crimes that included forming an organised criminal group, human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor, and money laundering. It further stated that it had asked that three of the suspects remain in custody while another be put under house arrest.
According to Diicot, two of the accused used the “loverboy” method. The method used by the two brothers involved convincing people they are in a romantic relationship, to force 34 victims into making pornography, which was then sold online for proceeds of more than USD 2.8 million and 887,000 crypto tokens.
Diicot asked the Bucharest court to arrest the Tate brothers for 30 days, but the judge decided to place Andrew Tate under house arrest and Tristan under judiciary control for that period, their representative Mateea Petrescu said on Thursday.
“The Tates salute the decision and firmly deny all allegations levelled against them, emphasising that the accusations are baseless and unsupported by substantial evidence,” Petrescu wrote in a statement, as quoted by Reuters.