Romanian authorities Wednesday said four homes were searched in a new investigation into alleged sex-trafficking of minors by internet personality Andrew Tate (L). Tate was already awaiting trial with his brother Tristan on rape and human trafficking charges. They deny the charges. File Photo by Robert Ghement/EPA-EFE
Romanian police searched four homes Wednesday in a new alleged sex-trafficking of minors criminal investigation of online personality Andrew Tate.
Prosecutors of Romania’s Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism – Central Structure conducted the search with police officers from the Ilfov Organized Crime Service. Advertisement
The DIICOT said in a statement that four home search warrants were used in the search “within the Ilfov County and the Bucharest municipality, in a criminal case regarding the commission of the crimes of forming an organized criminal group, trafficking in minors, trafficking in persons, sexual intercourse with a minor, influencing statements and money laundering.”
The home search came as Tate and his brother were awaiting trial on rape and human trafficking charges. The new police action could result in additional charges against him.
The Tates deny the charges.
“The Matrix is real. And they have a tried and true playbook. Slander is their number one tool and the process is the punishment. But unfortunately for them, Good always wins in the end,” Tate wrote on X after the searches.
Tate is a self-described misogynist previously banned from some social media platforms for expressing those views. Advertisement
Tate and his brother Tristan were arrested in December 2022 and released from house arrest in August 2023.
They are charged with human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
In March a Romanian court approved extradition of the Tates based on a British warrant for alleged crimes from 2012-2015. They can only be extradited after Romanian trial proceedings are finished.
The Tates are former kickboxers and online personalities who allegedly exploited women to produce pornographic content for social media sites, which generated large sums of money, according to prosecutors.
