Controversial internet influencer Andrew Tate has been placed under house arrest by a Romanian judge while prosecutors investigate new and serious allegations, including sex with minors and human trafficking of minors.
He and his brother Tristan appeared in court Thursday afternoon. Tristan Tate was placed under special judicial supervision.
The public prosecutor had asked the judge to remand the brothers in custody for 30 days while new investigations continued against a total of 35 alleged victims, including a then 15-year-old girl.
In a statement, Romania’s anti-organized crime agency DIICOT said a total of six people had been arrested, both Romanians and foreigners.
Andrew Tate made an angry statement to the press outside, calling the charges against him a “framework” and lies.
“This is a trap. It is absolutely disgusting. Thirty of these girls say we have done nothing wrong. Two are the mothers of our children, two have never been here in Romania,” he said.
When the BBC repeatedly questioned him about allegations that he had sex with a 15-year-old girl and trafficked minors, he walked away and refused to answer.
The Tate brothers have previously been accused of human trafficking, and Andrew Tate of rape. Both are now awaiting trial. A year ago, they were released from house arrest and told not to leave Romania.
They have consistently denied any wrongdoing and also deny the formal allegations made against them.
These are new and independent allegations.
The Organised Crime Control Authority said the defendants manipulated “vulnerable” people, then placed them in various locations and forced them to produce pornographic material for online broadcast.
One of the foreign men is accused of forcing a 17-year-old foreign national to perform “sexual acts” to create online video content. He is said to have kept all of the $1.5 million (£1.1 million) profits. His name is not mentioned in the statement.
The same man is accused of having had repeated sexual relations with a girl who was 15 years old at the time of the encounter.
After several hours of questioning at the DIICOT offices, Andrew Tate told the BBC on Wednesday evening that the latest allegations were “pathetic” and that prosecutors were “desperate”. He said they had “made up a lot of things”.
He also said he was accused of treating the mother of his children “as a lover boy” – a method used by criminals to exploit the vulnerability of their victims.
Andrew Tate, a notorious misogynist with a huge online following, called the charges against him on Twitter/X some kind of mainstream “conspiracy” to silence him.
In the new statement, prosecutors accuse the brothers of purchasing four luxury cars and registering them in other people’s names in order to hide the proceeds of what they describe as their illegal activities.
In total, the defendant is said to have earned around $2.8 million through sexual exploitation.
The arrested are also accused of attempting to intimidate victims and witnesses.
During a 10-hour search of four properties on Wednesday, investigators seized cash and other items, including luxury watches, laptops, hard drives and documents. They also confiscated 16 luxury cars.
The Tate brothers were taken into custody late Wednesday evening after questioning along with four Romanian citizens.
But to detain them for more than 24 hours, prosecutors had to bring them before a judge, and the brothers appeared in court hours later.
