Free Classified Ads Articles Andrew Tate and brother arrested in Romania on suspicion of rape and human traffickingAndrew Tate and brother arrested in Romania on suspicion of rape and human trafficking
Andrew Tate and brother arrested in Romania on suspicion of rape and human trafficking
Social media influencer and former kickboxer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have been arrested in Romania on suspicion of rape, human trafficking, and forming an organised crime group. The 36-year-old and his brother will be held for 24 hours in Bucharest alongside two Romanian suspects, according to prosecutors.
Mr Tate rose to prominence this year after airing controversial views online, having been forced to leave Celebrity Big Brother in 2016 after a video emerged of him supposedly beating a woman.
Both parties claimed the activities in the video were consensual.
Prosecutors in Romania said: "The four suspects... appear to have created an organised crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialised websites for a cost.
"They would have gained important sums of money."
The Tate brothers declined to comment but their lawyer confirmed the arrest had taken place.
A spokesperson for Andrew Tate said: "We cannot provide any details at the moment regarding alleged reports that they have been detained; however, Andrew and Tristan Tate have the utmost respect for the Romanian authorities and will always assist and help in any way they can."
In footage widely circulated on social media, Mr Tate and his brother appear to be being led away from a luxury villa.
Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) issued a statement in which it did not name Mr Tate or his brother, but said that two British citizens and two Romanian citizens were suspects in an investigation looking into events beginning in 2021.
Video was also released appearing to show police raiding an exotic villa, as well as shots of what appear to be firearms, knives, and money.
This morning, Mr Tate tweeted "The Matrix sent their agents" in an apparent reference to the events.
At one point this year Mr Tate was the most searched-for person on the Internet before he was banned from Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and TikTok.
However, when Elon Musk took over Twitter, Mr Tate's account was reinstated.
Many people in schools and universities have expressed concern about the influence Mr Tate has over young men, with some students reportedly refusing to do homework set by female teachers.
He has suggested rape victims "bear some responsibility" for being attacked and has described women as "property" belonging to men.
He has also described how he would violently assault a woman for accusing him of cheating, saying he would "bang out the machete, boom in her face and grip her by the neck".
Mr Tate has denied being a misogynist and accused the media of "twisting facts".
Earlier this week, Mr Tate engaged in a Twitter spat with environmental activist Greta Thunberg offering to send her a list of the exotic cars that he owned and their "enormous emissions."
