Andrew Tate and brother Tristan arrive handcuffed at Romanian court

Andrew Tate has arrived at court clutching a Quran to challenge his 30-day arrest as part of a probe into alleged human trafficking, rape and exploitation of women. The anti-feminist influencer, 36, was pictured stepping out the back of a police van in Bucharest this morning handcuffed to his detained brother Tristan, who smiled and waved to people gathered nearby. In front of the millionaire adult webcam businessmen were the so-called ‘Tate’s Angels’ in handcuffs, former policewomen Luana Radu, far left, and Georgiana Naghel, second left, Andrew’s alleged girlfriend.

The four were arrested after a raid of Tate’s concrete compound on December 29, accused of recruiting and trafficking young women into online adult videos by seducing them and falsely claiming to want a relationship. They have denied wrongdoing through an attorney and have challenged the arrest warrant. The alleged victims were then taken to properties on the outskirts of capital Bucharest and through physical violence and mental intimidation were sexually exploited by being forced to produce adult content for social media sites which generated large financial gains, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors also said one of the brothers sexually assaulted one of the victims in March of last year, which is when the investigation started. 

‘The possibility that the suspects would evade investigation, leave Romania and settle in countries that do not allow extradition given their financial possibilities and public comments to that regard cannot be ignored,’ the court judge said in the written record approving the arrest. Prosecutors have seized 15 luxury vehicles and over 10 properties and homes belonging to the suspects in Bucharest and Prahova and Brasov counties, Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romanian anti-organized crime unit DIICOT, told Reuters. The seizure was meant to prevent the assets being sold or concealed. 

Should the court uphold the arrest warrant and the investigation need more time, prosecutors can seek approval for further extensions of up to 180 days of detention under Romanian law. Tate gained mainstream notoriety for misogynistic remarks and hate speech, which got him banned from all major social media platforms, although since Elon Musk took over Twitter his account was reinstated in November. The former professional kickboxer, who holds U.S. and British nationality, has said women are partially responsible for being raped and that they belong to men. He is a self-professed misogynist. 

On a podcast last year, he said he started making money by convincing multiple girlfriends to videochat and share the profits back when he lived in London. ‘How can I use these women to make me money?’ Tate said, adding his business started with two girlfriends and peaked with 75 women working for him and earning $600,000 a month. He has also said he moved to Romania after being investigated in the United Kingdom on charges of sexual assault, which were ultimately dropped, because he liked living in countries where corruption was accessible to everybody.

The former Big Brother star recently converted to Islam, declaring it the ‘one true religion,’ and has posted excerpts from the Quran online to his large following. Pictured: Andrew Tate is escorted by police after being arrested in Bucharest on December 29, 2022

Radu (pictured), 32, was previously based at a police station in central Bucharest but quit the force eight years ago to pursue a career working in video chat rooms, which attract men from all over the world and have become a lucrative industry in Romania.

Naghel (pictured), 28, who is a U.S. citizen, is described as a businesswoman and influencer who is believed to have been dating Tate for almost a year. Yesterday, prosecutors alleged in court filing that Tate refused to let women leave his compound without being escorted by one of his employees, according to WhatsApp messages. The messages are allegedly from women Tate and his brother are accused of forcing to create online sexual content.

In the unearthed messages between Tate and his alleged victims, the infamous misogynist appears to boast about how he runs the operation. This comes after the lawyer of the Tate brothers claimed Romanian prosecutors had no evidence to back up the allegations of sexual assault and human trafficking. The messages show Tate allegedly threatening a women in a WhatsApp group that includes his employees and the alleged victims. Filed by prosecutors and released by Gandul, they show one of the women asking to leave the compound. Pictured: Tate and the alleged ring was arrested on December 29 at his bolthole on the outskirts of Bucharest.

Andrew Tate tells the woman ‘don’t go anywhere’ without one of three trusted employees. She then asks Tate: ‘Why are you so cold to me?’ Tate then tells her: ‘Don’t go out alone without telling me. Mall, supermarket, nowhere from now on.’ The woman says that she had already told him that she ‘wanted to go alone.’ Tate then says this is her ‘last warning!’ In the other messages released by Gandul, Tate brags about how he runs the operation. One woman messages him: ‘I heard you’re the one running the Only fans and TikTok girls business.’ Tate responds: ‘Tristan and Georgiana [Georgiana Naghel, who was also arrested with the Tate brothers], but I lead them.’ The released messages come after Tate’s lawyer claimed Romanian police have no evidence to back up their allegations of rape and human trafficking against the infamous misogynist.

Eugen Vidineac (pictured), who represents both brothers, told Romanian online newspaper Gandul he believed the character someone like Tate portrays on social media could not be ‘used as evidence in a criminal trial’ as it may not reflect who they really are. Mr Vidineac said it took the Tate brothers ‘some time to understand’ why they were in custody, and that there was no evidence to support the allegations, that also include organized criminal activity. Asked what evidence there was in support of a human trafficking offense, Mr Vidineac said: ‘In my view, there is no evidence there either, and I’m talking about evidence leading, by itself or directly, to the formation of an opinion of reasonable suspicion regarding the commission of offenses provided for and punishable by criminal law.’

‘In this case we are talking about human trafficking and organized crime.’ Mr Vidineac said the documents they had seen did not ‘accurately describe the hierarchy of the group, the functions of each person, who was part of this alleged criminal group.’ He said the documents also did not ‘comply with the legal requirements concerning the way in which the offense of human trafficking is committed.’ Speaking about claims the men had contempt for women, Mr Vidineac said: ‘They say that these issues are ripped out of context, out of some interviews they have done on social media. But they also say, if we live our lives surrounded by over 300 people, women and men, we have a lot of girlfriends and supporters all over the world, we’ve been out in public all the time with our girlfriends and there have been no complaints from our girlfriends.’

‘People have come out in public and said that they’ve been with one of the Tate brothers and he’s not a violent, uneducated, abusive character as he is being portrayed at this point.’ Speaking about what role social media may play in the case, Mr Vidineac said: ‘In the case of the Tate brothers, I don’t know what their intent was in promoting themselves on social media, but I sit here and wonder, can that intent from the social media stand as evidence in a criminal prosecution case, with respect to a criminal character?’ 

On Sunday, Andrew Tate has tweeted a link to a Romanian article that stated one of the influencer brothers has been taken to hospital. He adding that the ‘Matrix has attacked me.’ In the ambiguous message, the 36-year-old said: ‘The Matrix has attacked me. But they misunderstand, you cannot kill an idea. Hard to Kill.’

One of the brothers is said to have informed a medic of a pre-existing health issue, resulting in a consultation at a hospital in Bucharest. They are now back in a detention center, the website reports. DIICOTs said in a statement last week that it has identified six victims who were subjected to ‘acts of physical violence and mental coercion’ and were sexually exploited by group members. The agency said two British citizens in the case lured victims under the pretense of love, and later intimidation, constant surveillance, and other control tactics into performing sexually explicit acts intended to reap ‘important financial benefits.’

Tate was banned from most social media platforms, by his account was reinstated by Twitter after the company was bought by billionaire Elon Musk. He currently has 4.4 million Twitter followers, although the reach of his content on video platforms such as TikTok has been more of a concern. According to analysis by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) in November, over 100 accounts that frequently promote Tate’s content had amassed a total of 250 million video views, and 5.7 million followers. Pictured: Andrew Tate is seen detained in Romania after being arrested in December.

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