Current:Home > reviewsPolice raid Andrew Tate’s home in Romania as new allegations emerge involving minors -Wealthify
Police raid Andrew Tate’s home in Romania as new allegations emerge involving minors
View
Date:2025-04-13 09:29:47
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Masked police officers in Romania carried out fresh raids early Wednesday at the home of divisive internet influencer Andrew Tate, who is awaiting 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 searching four homes in Bucharest and nearby Ilfov county, investigating allegations of human trafficking, the trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor, influencing statements and money laundering. The agency added that hearings will later be held at its headquarters.
Tate’s spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, said in response to the raids that “although the charges in the search warrant are not yet fully clarified, they include suspicions of human trafficking and money laundering” and added that his legal team is present. Petrescu did not address the allegations involving minors.
Dozens of police officers and forensic personnel were scouring Tate’s large property on the edge of the capital Bucharest. “During the entire criminal process, the investigated persons benefit from the procedural rights and guarantees provided by the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as the presumption of innocence,” DIICOT noted in its statement.
The 37-year-old Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan, 36, both former kickboxers and dual British-U.S. citizens who have amassed millions of social media followers, were arrested in 2022 near Bucharest along with two Romanian women. Romanian prosecutors formally indicted all four last year. They have denied the allegations.
In April, the Bucharest Tribunal ruled that the prosecutors’ case file against the four met the legal criteria and that a trial could start but did not set a date for it to begin. That ruling came after the legal case had been discussed for months in the preliminary chamber stages, a process in which the defendants can challenge prosecutors’ evidence and case file.
After the Tate brothers’ arrest in 2022, they were held for three months in police detention before being moved to house arrest. They were later restricted to the Bucharest and Ilfov counties, and later to all of Romania.
Last month, a court overturned an earlier decision that allowed the Tate brothers to leave Romania as they await trial. The earlier court ruled on July 5 that they could leave the country as long as they remained within the 27-member European Union. The decision was final.
Andrew Tate, who is known for expressing misogynistic views online and has amassed 9.9 million followers on the 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 was previously banned from various social media platforms for misogynistic views and hate speech.
In March, the Tate brothers also appeared at the Bucharest Court of Appeal in a separate case, after British authorities issued arrest warrants over allegations of sexual aggression in a U.K. case dating back to 2012-2015. The appeals court granted the British request to extradite the the Tates to the U.K., but only after legal proceedings in Romania have concluded.
___
McGrath reported from Sibiu, Romania.
veryGood! (1)
Related
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- North Korea’s Kim orders sharp increase in missile production, days before US-South Korea drills
- Argentine peso plunges after rightist who admires Trump comes first in primary vote
- Climber Kristin Harila responds after critics accuse her of walking past dying sherpa to set world record
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- Bachelor Nation's Jade Roper Shares She's Experiencing a Missed Miscarriage
- Russia's ruble is now worth less than 1 cent. It's the lowest since the start of Ukraine war.
- Cottage cheese has many health benefits. Should you eat it every day?
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- Sex, murder, football: Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets visit 'Chicago' musical on Broadway
Ranking
- Sam Taylor
- Hilary Duff's Relatable Wellness Approach Is What Dreams Are Made Of
- EXPLAINER: Why is a police raid on a newspaper in Kansas so unusual?
- 2 dead after plane crashes into North Carolina lake, authorities say
- The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
- Michael Oher, Subject of Blind Side, Says Tuohy Family Earned Millions After Lying About Adoption
- Ashley Olsen Gives Birth to First Baby: Everything to Know About Husband Louis Eisner
- Russia's ruble is now worth less than 1 cent. It's the lowest since the start of Ukraine war.
Recommendation
Trump's 'stop
Wendy McMahon and Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews take lead news executive roles at CBS
Bryce Young limited during Panthers' preseason debut as Jets win without Aaron Rodgers
Those Taylor Swift figurines for sale online aren't from Funko, but fans will pay $250 anyway
Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
Jim Gaffigan on the complex process of keeping his kids' cellphones charged
CNN revamps schedule, with new roles for Phillip, Coates, Wallace and Amanpour
Horoscopes Today, August 14, 2023