Current:Home > ScamsPolice raid Andrew Tate’s home in Romania as new allegations emerge involving minors -Momentum Wealth Path
Police raid Andrew Tate’s home in Romania as new allegations emerge involving minors
View
Date:2025-04-18 11:12:37
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! (1919)
Related
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- Nick Saban retiring as Alabama football coach
- FACT FOCUS: Discovery of a tunnel at a Chabad synagogue spurs false claims and conspiracy theories
- DJ Black Coffee injured in 'severe travel accident' while traveling to Argentina
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- US applications for jobless benefits fall to lowest level in 12 weeks
- 27 Rental Friendly Décor Hacks That Will Help You Get Your Deposit Back
- These Best Dressed Stars at the Emmys Deserve a Standing Ovation for Their Award-Worthy Style
- Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
- NYC issues vacate orders to stabilize historic Jewish sites following discovery of 60-foot tunnel
Ranking
- California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 27 Rental Friendly Décor Hacks That Will Help You Get Your Deposit Back
- Peeps unveils new flavors for Easter 2024, including Icee Blue Raspberry and Rice Krispies
- The tribes wanted to promote their history. Removing William Penn’s statue wasn’t a priority
- Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
- The tribes wanted to promote their history. Removing William Penn’s statue wasn’t a priority
- 'Lunar New Year Love Story' celebrates true love, honors immigrant struggles
- New list scores TV, streaming series for on-screen and behind-the-scenes diversity and inclusion
Recommendation
EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein has raised $5.7M since July, his campaign says
Germany ready to help de-escalate tensions in disputed South China Sea, its foreign minister says
Tacoma bagel shop owner killed in attempted robbery while vacationing in New Orleans
Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
Deion Sanders thinks college football changed so much it 'chased the GOAT' Nick Saban away
Gov. Brian Kemp seeks to draw political contrasts in his State of the State speech
Researchers identify a fossil unearthed in New Mexico as an older, more primitive relative of T. rex