Andrew Tate, a social media influencer who has amassed millions of online followers by promoting a supposedly hyper-masculine lifestyle, was reportedly charged with rape and sex trafficking on Tuesday in the southeastern European nation of Romania.
The Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), Romania’s foremost anti-organized crime agency, stated in a statement that prosecutors lodged charges against Andrew Tate, his brother Tristan, and two Romanian women in a court in Bucharest, Romania’s capital.
The statement alleged that members of the group sexually exploited the victims, forcing them to perform pornographic acts on camera for distribution on social media platforms.
DIICOT’s statement indicated that prosecutors ordered the confiscation of the Tate brothers’ assets, including 15 luxurious vehicles, luxury watches, and approximately $3 million in cryptocurrency.
Prosecutors assert that victims who refused to continue producing pornographic material and were requested to leave the property were subjected to striking and other forms of physical punishment.
Since 2017, Tate, 36, has lived in Romania. The former professional kickboxer has asserted on multiple occasions that Romanian prosecutors lack evidence and that the case is a political plot to muzzle him.
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