Andrew Tate: Romania extends detention over rape and trafficking allegations

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CN—

Influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan will remain in custody until February 27 after a Romanian court extended their detention on Friday, Tates’ lawyers told CNN affiliate Antena 3.

The brothers are being investigated over allegations of human trafficking and rape.

Romanian authorities said police issued search warrants at five homes and arrested four suspects, two British and two Romanian, as part of the investigation.

The Romanian Directorate for Organized Crime and Terrorism Investigations (DIICOT) initially said the four suspects had been detained for 24 hours. A Bucharest court has accepted a request by DIICOT to keep Tate and her brother Tristan in custody for another 30 days, their lawyer Eugen Vidineac said on December 30. This period has again been extended until February 27.

DIICOT alleged that the four suspects formed an organized criminal group that stretched from Romania to Britain and the United States, with the aim of committing the crime of human trafficking.

The agency said last Thursday that seven more properties had been searched as part of the investigation, bringing the total number of properties surveyed to 12.

Authorities allege that two of the suspects misled the victims into believing that they intended to enter into a marriage/cohabitation relationship while transporting the victims to Romania and then sexually exploiting them through physical violence and coercion.

Authorities also said one of the suspects raped a victim twice in March 2022. At least six victims were allegedly sexually exploited by the organized crime group, according to the DIICOT statement.

On Monday, Romanian authorities said they seized nearly $4 million in assets belonging to Tate over the past week. Among the 29 assets seized are motor vehicles, luxury watches and sums of money in several different currencies, the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ANABI) said.

Tate, a former professional kickboxer, is known for his viral online rants about male dominance, female submission and wealth. He openly advocates violence against women and had previously been banned from all major social media platforms until Elon Musk reinstated his Twitter account after taking over the business.

He rose to prominence earlier this year, with many adults, including teachers, worrying about his misogynistic ideas taking root in the minds of countless young boys. Prior to its deletion, his TikTok account had racked up around 11.6 billion views.

He made headlines the week he was arrested for a Twitter interaction with Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who told Tate to have a life after tweeting about his many cars and their respective huge shows.

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