Police raid Andrew Tate’s home in Romania as new allegations emerge involving minors 1 of 8
Masked police officers in Romania carried out fresh raids early Wednesday at the home of divisive internet influencer Andrew Tate.
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An armed gendarme wearing a balaclava stands outside the residence of Andrew Tate during a police search raid, on the outskirts of Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
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Armed gendarmes wearing balaclavas walk outside the residence of Andrew Tate during a police search raid, on the outskirts of Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
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A police officer exits the residence of social media personality Andrew Tate during an early morning search raid, on the outskirts of Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Aug. 21 2024. (AP Photo/ Vadim Ghirda)
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Masked police wait outside the residence of social media personality Andrew Tate during an early morning search raid, on the outskirts of Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Aug. 21 2024. (AP Photo/ Vadim Ghirda)
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A police officer exits the residence of social media personality Andrew Tate during an early morning search raid, on the outskirts of Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Aug. 21 2024. (AP Photo/ Vadim Ghirda)
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Gendarmes patrol outside the residence of social media personality Andrew Tate during an early morning search raid, on the outskirts of Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Aug. 21 2024. (AP Photo/ Vadim Ghirda)
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Andrew Tate’s lawyer Eugen Vidineac exits the residence of social media personality Andrew Tate during an early morning search raid by the police, on the outskirts of Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Aug. 21 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Masked police officers in Romania carried out fresh raids early Wednesday at the home of divisive internet influencer , who is 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 all four last year. They have denied the allegations.
Petrescu said late Wednesday that the Tate brothers have been detained for 24 hours, which is the maximum DIICOT can hold them without a judge approving a request by prosecutors for a longer period. “As of yet, no proposal has been submitted by the prosecution,” she said.
As the brothers were ushered from their home into a police van outside, Andrew Tate complained to reporters that the case was progressing too slowly. “What I’ve done wrong, who knows,” he claimed.
Andrew Tate is known for expressing misogynistic views online and has amassed 9.9 million followers on the social media platform X, and 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 April, the Bucharest Tribunal ruled that the prosecutors’ case file against the four met the legal criteria and 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.
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