BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian authorities towed a fleet of luxury cars from the home of controversial social media star Andrew Tate on Saturday, days after he was placed under house arrest amid new human trafficking allegations.
Tate, 37, and his brother Tristan Tate, 36, both former kickboxers and British and American citizens with millions of followers on social media and known for their misogynistic views, are already awaiting trial in Romania, along with two women. were charged of human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to exploit women. Andrew Tate was also charged with rape in this case.
The luxury vehicles seized from their home near the capital included a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, a Mercedes-Benz, a McLaren and a more plain-looking classic red Lada. The seizure came two days after Romania’s anti-organized crime agency DIICOT four houses searched in Bucharest and nearby Ilfov County and arrested six people, including the Tate brothers. Officers also confiscated thousands of dollars in cash, laptops and data storage drives.
One of the Tates’ lawyers, Georgiana Popa, told reporters outside the brothers’ home on Saturday that the seizures were “legal but without merit,” adding that they had been appealed.
“The cars are not the property (of the brothers),” she said, without giving further information.
The Tate brothers appeared before a Bucharest court on Thursday as prosecutors sought to have them remanded in custody. However, a judge rejected that request and placed Andrew Tate under house arrest and Tristan Tate under judicial supervision, which usually means limiting contact with certain people and requiring the brothers to report regularly to police. The brothers’ spokeswoman, Mateea Petrescu, said the Tates strongly deny all allegations against them and are “determined to prove their innocence.”
In the new case, DIICOT said it was investigating allegations of human trafficking, including trafficking in minors, sexual intercourse with minors, forming an organized criminal group, money laundering and manipulating testimony.
The agency also said the defendants used the “Loverboy” method to exploit 34 vulnerable victims, forcing them to produce pornographic material online for payment, and retained more than $2.8 million (€2.5 million) of the profits from this method.
An unnamed foreigner also sexually exploited a 17-year-old foreign girl, DIICOT claims, and said he kept the entire $1.5 million (1.3 million euros) he earned from the criminal activity. The same man had “multiple sexual relations and acts” with a 15-year-old, the agency claims.
Andrew Tate, who has 9.9 million X followers, 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.
The authorities had previously confiscated part of the brothers’ assets.
After the Tates’ arrest in December 2022 15 luxury cars confiscated14 designer watches and cash in several currencies. The total value of the goods was estimated at 3.6 million euros (3.9 million dollars), according to the authorities at the time. In April, the Bucharest Tribunal ruled that the prosecutor’s indictment against them met the legal criteria and that a process could beginbut has not set a start date.
Last month, a court overturned an earlier decision allowing the Tate brothers to leave Romania while awaiting trial. The court’s decision is final and cannot be appealed.
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Stephen McGrath reported from Sighisoara.
