ReutersControversial influencer Andrew Tate has been remanded in custody in a single day as a part of an investigation into new allegations in opposition to him.
He and his brother Tristan have been taken in for questioning by Romania’s severe crime company, DIICOT, as police searched their house.
The web character was already awaiting trial for rape and human trafficking, however might doubtlessly now face further fees 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 a large following on social media, have denied all earlier fees in opposition to them.
They have been first detained in Romania in December 2022, then launched from home arrest in August 2023.
In accordance with a press release from DIICOT earlier within the day, 4 homes have been searched on Wednesday morning within the capital, Bucharest, and in Ilfov county.
The brothers have been then pushed to DIICOT in Bucharest for questioning – and afterwards taken into custody in handcuffs and below armed guard.
They’ve been remanded in custody for twenty-four hours.
In accordance with the brothers’ lawyer, they’re being saved 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 have 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 youngsters.
“Ask them this time what the proof [is].”
He described the file as being “extra pathetic than the primary”.
Earlier on Wednesday, the brothers have 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 a neighborhood blogger who requested why he was again at DIICOT. Grinning, Tate replied that he “didn’t know”, earlier than shouting by way of the closing door that he was in his “favorite place”.
Two cops, who each had their faces lined by balaclavas, have been seen carrying heavy sacks into the identical constructing – presumably with objects taken throughout a search of the brothers’ house 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 need 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 fees, 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. And so they have a tried and true playbook.
“Slander is their primary instrument and the method is the punishment. However sadly for them, Good at all times wins ultimately.”
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 in opposition to him and there’s a conspiracy to silence him.
The Tate brothers, former kickboxers who’re twin UK-US nationals, are accused of exploiting girls through an grownup content material enterprise, which prosecutors allege operated as a felony group.
Two feminine Romanian associates have been additionally named alongside the brothers in an indictment revealed in June final yr, and 7 alleged victims have been recognized.
The web personalities are additionally needed within the UK in reference to separate and unrelated sexual offences allegedly dedicated there.