BUCHAREST, Romania — Romanian authorities removed a fleet of luxury vehicles from the home of controversial social media celebrity Andrew Tate on Saturday, days after he was placed under house arrest following new human trafficking allegations.
Tate, 37, and her brother Tristan Tate, 36, are both former kickboxers and dual British and American nationals with millions of followers on social media and a reputation for their misogynistic views. They are already awaiting trial in Romania along with two women.
They were charged with human trafficking and forming a criminal organisation to exploit women. Andrew Tate was also charged with rape in the case.
Romanian authorities towed a fleet of luxury cars from Andrew Tait’s home. AP Cars seized from the home included a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, a Mercedes-Benz, a McLaren and a red Lada. AP A Romanian court has placed Andrew Tait under house arrest while prosecutors investigate the new charges. AFP via Getty Images
Luxury cars seized from his home near the capital included a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, a Mercedes-Benz, a McLaren and a more modest-looking classic red Lada.
The seizure came two days after Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, raided four homes in Bucharest and the neighboring county of Ilfov and arrested six people, including the Tate brothers. Investigators also seized thousands of dollars in cash, laptops and data storage drives.
The car was removed from Andrew Tait’s home on the outskirts of Bucharest, Romania, on Saturday. via Reuters
Georgiana Popa, one of the Tate brothers’ lawyers, told reporters outside the brothers’ home on Saturday that the seizures were “lawful but without basis” and were being challenged.
“The car does not belong to (the brothers),” she said, without providing any further information.
The Tait brothers appeared in court in Bucharest on Thursday as prosecutors sought their detention.
But the judge denied the request and placed Andrew Tate in custody and Tristan Tate under judicial control, which typically includes restricting their contact with certain people and having to report to police regularly.
The brothers’ spokesman, Mattea Petrescu, said the Tait brothers categorically deny all charges against them and “remain determined to prove their innocence.”
Andrew Tate and his brother deny all charges against them and “remain determined to prove their innocence”, via Reuters. Romanian military police are pictured outside the home of Andrew and Tristan Tate after a 10-hour police raid in Bucharest on August 21, 2024. AFP, via Getty Images
DIICOT said the new case is investigating allegations of human trafficking, including trafficking in minors, sexual intercourse with minors, forming an organized crime group, money laundering and influencing speech.
The office also said the defendants used coercive “love boy” tactics to exploit 34 vulnerable victims, forcing them to create pornographic material online for a fee, then kept more than $2.8 million in profits.
Tate has millions of followers on social media and is known for spreading misogynistic views. AFP via Getty Images
DIICOT alleges that an unnamed foreign man also sexually exploited a 17-year-old foreign national and kept all of the $1.5 million he made from the criminal activity for himself. The agency also alleges that the same man “repeatedly engaged in sexual relations and acts” with a 15-year-old girl.
Andrew Tait, who has 9.9 million X followers, has repeatedly claimed that the prosecution has no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy to silence him. He has previously been banned from various social media platforms for his misogynistic views and hate speech.
Authorities have already confiscated some of the brothers’ assets.
Authorities seized 15 luxury cars, 14 designer watches and cash in multiple currencies after the Taits were arrested in December 2022. Authorities said at the time that the total value of the items was estimated at $3.9 million. In April, a Bucharest court ruled that the prosecution’s case against them met legal standards and a trial could begin, but did not set a start date.
Last month, the court overturned an earlier decision that had allowed the Tait brothers to leave Romania while they awaited trial. Court decisions are final and cannot be appealed.
