ReutersControversial influencer Andrew Tate has been remanded in custody in a single day as a part of an investigation into new allegations towards him.
He and his brother Tristan had been taken in for questioning by Romania’s critical crime company, DIICOT, as police searched their residence.
The web character was already awaiting trial for rape and human trafficking, however may doubtlessly now face further prices of intercourse with, and trafficking in, underage individuals, in addition to money-laundering and making an attempt to affect witnesses, prosecutors say.
Andrew and Tristan Tate, who’ve an enormous following on social media, have denied all earlier prices towards them.
They had been first detained in Romania in December 2022, then launched from home arrest in August 2023.
In accordance with an announcement from DIICOT earlier within the day, 4 homes had been searched on Wednesday morning within the capital, Bucharest, and in Ilfov county.
The brothers had been then pushed to DIICOT in Bucharest for questioning – and afterwards taken into custody in handcuffs and beneath armed guard.
They’ve been remanded in custody for twenty-four hours.
In accordance with the brothers’ lawyer, they’re being stored till prosecutors can ask a choose both to detain them for longer, transfer to accommodate arrest or launch them.
Requested by the BBC what he needed to say in regards to the new allegations, Andrew Tate shouted over his shoulder that the prosecutors had been “determined”.
“Wait ’til you see,” he stated. “They are saying I’ve lover-boyed the mom of my kids. We tricked them into having children.
“Ask them this time what the proof [is].”
He described the file as being “extra pathetic than the primary”.
Earlier on Wednesday, the brothers had been met by a small crowd of reporters and supporters as they arrived on the DIICOT constructing in police vans.
As Andrew Tate entered the constructing he greeted an area blogger who requested why he was again at DIICOT. Grinning, Tate replied that he “didn’t know”, earlier than shouting via the closing door that he was in his “favorite place”.
Two law enforcement officials, who each had their faces lined by balaclavas, had been seen carrying heavy sacks into the identical constructing – presumably with gadgets taken throughout a search of the brothers’ residence and different properties.
Requested to touch upon the most recent developments, their lawyer – Eugen Vidineac – stated the most recent allegations weren’t but clear, as he hadn’t but seen the file.
He stated he didn’t but know “what we’re coping with”.
Officers at DIICOT have 24 hours to query the brothers. After that, in the event that they wish to remand them in custody, they must convey them earlier than a choose.
The lawyer stated he didn’t anticipate the brothers to be detained as a result of their actions are already restricted as they await trial for different prices, together with forming and organised crime group and human trafficking.
ReutersIn an obvious response to the raid, Andrew Tate posted on X (previously Twitter): “The Matrix is actual. They usually have a tried and true playbook.
“Slander is their primary software and the method is the punishment. However sadly for them, Good at all times wins in the long run.”
Andrew Tate is a self-described misogynist and was beforehand banned from social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views.
He has repeatedly claimed Romanian prosecutors don’t have any proof towards him and there’s a conspiracy to silence him.
The Tate brothers, former kickboxers who’re twin UK-US nationals, are accused of exploiting ladies through an grownup content material enterprise, which prosecutors allege operated as a legal group.
Two feminine Romanian associates had been additionally named alongside the brothers in an indictment printed in June final 12 months, and 7 alleged victims had been recognized.
The web personalities are additionally needed within the UK in reference to separate and unrelated sexual offences allegedly dedicated there.
