Romanian prosecutors have indicted social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate on charges including trafficking in minors and money laundering.
The Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, DIICOT, alleges that the brothers made more than $1.2 million by exploiting a 15-year-old girl, including coercing her to perform sex acts on video chats. Both brothers deny the allegations.
Andrew Tate, 39, faces charges of trafficking in minors, money laundering and having sex with a minor. His brother, Tristan Tate, 38, is charged with complicity in trafficking in minors and money laundering.
According to prosecutors, the case centres on a girl who was 15 at the time of the alleged offences. Andrew Tate is accused of recruiting her and housing her in a building in Luton, Bedfordshire, where prosecutors say he sexually exploited her.
DIICOT alleges that Andrew Tate controlled the girl through surveillance and physical aggression and forced her to perform sex acts on video chats for his financial benefit.
Prosecutors also allege that he later moved her to Romania, where the exploitation continued at two of his properties.
Tristan Tate is accused of assisting his brother and using physical aggression to coerce the alleged victim, according to prosecutors. Andrew Tate is separately charged with having sex with another minor, who was also 15 at the time, in Romania.
Prosecutors have also asked for four luxury cars belonging to the brothers, valued at about £710,000, to be confiscated. They allege that the money used to purchase the vehicles was laundered.
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The brothers, who are former kickboxers and hold dual US and British citizenship, have been under criminal investigation in Romania since December 2022.
They have largely been based in the country since 2017, where they built a large social media following, particularly among young men, through posts promoting a luxury lifestyle and misogynistic views.
The Tates are currently in a Miami jail while fighting extradition to the UK over separate charges. They deny all allegations against them.
The brothers were previously indicted in Romania on trafficking charges. However, in 2024, an appeals court in Bucharest sent the case back to prosecutors after ruling that some of the evidence was inadmissible.
It is not yet clear whether DIICOT will seek the brothers’ extradition from the US. The latest indictment must also be examined by a judge before the case can proceed to trial.
The brothers’ Romanian lawyer, Eugen Constantin Vidineac, said the indictment did not establish guilt and should not be presented as such. “Today’s decision by DIICOT does not determine guilt and it should not be presented as though it does,” he said.
Vidineac said the defence would examine the indictment and challenge any “evidential, procedural or legal deficiencies” through the appropriate judicial process.
He added that his clients continued to reject the allegations and were entitled to the presumption of innocence, access to the evidence against them and an effective defence.
BBC
