New arrest for masculinist influencer Andrew Tate: followed by millions of Internet users, the 37-year-old British-American was detained in Romania following accusations of sexual assault committed in the United Kingdom.
He was arrested Monday evening with his brother Tristan, 35, in their residence located near Bucharest where they are under judicial supervision for another case.
The Romanian police explained on Tuesday that they had acted under “two European arrest warrants issued by the British judicial authorities, relating to sexual offenses and the exploitation of people”, according to a press release.
These are suspicions dating back to 2012-2015, under the jurisdiction of the Westminster court, said the Tate communications team.
According to the same source, the complaints “were rejected” in 2017-2019 but “resurfaced” in recent months.
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The former kickboxing world champion and his brother Tristan, 35, “categorically rejected” the new allegations, saying they were “dismayed and deeply disturbed”.
They question “the motivations behind this legal action” which appears to “exploit the celebrity” of Andrew Tate.
In June 2023, four women based in the United Kingdom formally notified their accusations in a letter demanding damages.
The McCue Jury&Partners firm, which represents them, “welcomed” this arrest, citing recent “information indicating a possible plan to flee the Tates”.
“It’s totally fanciful. There is no proof, no truth” in this assertion, reacted the brothers’ lawyer Eugen Vidineac to the Bucharest court, which must rule on the arrest warrants.
Andrew and Tristan Tate, dressed in black, appeared handcuffed as they exited the police van and did not say a word before heading inside the building to attend the hearing.
The Tate brothers are currently awaiting trial in Romania in a separate case of organized human trafficking, with the courts suspecting them of having duped several women for sexual exploitation.
The two men, who maintain their innocence, are suspected of having formed a network in early 2021 in Romania, as well as in the United States and the United Kingdom.
They were arrested at the end of 2022 and spent three months in detention. Indicted in June 2023, they are not authorized to leave the country.
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According to prosecutors, the victims were trapped by the two men who simulated feelings towards them (the so-called “loverboy” method), before being forced “through acts of physical violence and psychological coercion” to produce pornographic films.
Andrew Tate is also accused of rape, committed twice.
The influencer was born in the United States in 1986 according to his website. But he grew up, with his mother and brother, in Britain in Luton, north of London, after his parents separated.
He has lived in Romania for several years. Before finding himself behind bars, he said he appreciated “the freedom” and “the fact that corruption is accessible to everyone”.
The kickboxer first rose to prominence as a contestant on the UK reality TV show Big Brother in 2016. But he was quickly eliminated after a video surfaced showing him punching a woman .
Then he turned to social media.
Banned from Instagram and TikTok for misogynistic remarks, he is followed by nearly nine million people on the social network his luxury cars.
He promotes masculinist theses and gives his advice to men to help them become rich. His name is one of the most searched on Google.