Andrew Tate, High-Profile Social Media Influencer, Faces Accusations of Sexual Exploitation in Romania (Photo : Anything Goes With James English/Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0))
Prominent social media influencer, Andrew Tate, and three other individuals including his brother Tristan, have been indicted by Romanian authorities on charges of rape, human trafficking, and establishing a criminal organization dedicated to exploiting women, according to an announcement made by Romanian prosecutors on Tuesday.
The case involves a total of four defendants, including the Tate brothers and two Romanian women. The anti-organized crime agency in Romania has claimed that this group, initiated in 2021, was formed with the intention of facilitating human trafficking crimes not only in Romania, but also in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The charges are based on allegations that the group lured seven women to Romania under false pretenses. Once there, they were reportedly subjected to sexual exploitation and physical abuse. A particular defendant in the case has been accused of raping one of the victims on two separate occasions in March 20221.
Residing in Romania since 2017, 36-year-old Andrew Tate, who is a former professional kickboxer, has vociferously denied these charges. According to him, the allegations are part of a politically motivated conspiracy intended to muzzle his voice.
Tate's spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, emphasized that both brothers are committed to proving their innocence and restoring their reputation. She confirmed that they are fully prepared to cooperate with the authorities and present essential evidence to clear their names and expose any misconstrued or false allegations1.
Under the legal framework of Romania, a judge has a window of 60 days to review the case files before deciding whether or not the defendants should be taken to trial.
The four accused were taken into custody in Bucharest in late December, and the Tate brothers, who are dual British-U.S. citizens, were granted a transition from police custody to house arrest in March following a successful appeal.
Tate, a notorious figure on social media, had more than 6 million Twitter followers, largely young men and students. He was previously banned from various platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook due to hate speech and misogynistic comments. After being reinstated on Twitter by CEO Elon Musk, he has continued to attract a large number of followers, particularly young men and teenage boys, with his luxurious online lifestyle, despite his controversial content.
According to DIICOT, the alleged victims were enticed with fake declarations of love and were transported to Ilfov county in Romania, where they were compelled to participate in pornography. The victims were reportedly controlled through intimidation, constant surveillance, and by being kept in perpetual debt.
As part of the ongoing investigation, prosecutors have seized the Tate brothers' assets, including 15 luxury vehicles, high-end watches, and approximately $3 million worth of cryptocurrency.
Separately, several women in the UK have also launched civil cases against Tate, seeking damages for alleged sexual violence. In a recent interview with the BBC, Tate refuted these accusations and denied promoting a culture of misogyny or financially exploiting women.
