Picture Credit: Twitter
Former kickboxer Andrew Tate has been in the news after his arrest earlier this year. Tate has also suffered bans from several micro blogging sites for his controversial comments. Lately, Romanian prosecutors charged Tate with human trafficking, rape, and forming a gang to sexually exploit women. The group was arrested in December with similar allegations and they were moved from custody to house arrest following a ruling by a Romanian judge in March, this year.
Tate brothers and two other defendants are alleged to have recruited seven people by misleading them about an intent “to establish a marriage/cohabitation relationship,” according to the Romanian law enforcement agency Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT).
The seven victims were later held against their will and, through “physical violence and mental pressure,” sexually exploited on video for distribution on social media, the agency wrote. Four of the accused persons have also been charged with organizing a “criminal group” in 2021 to commit human trafficking in Romania, the UK, and the USA, among other countries.
Tate’s lawyer and the brothers have completely denied the allegations and even insinuated that the case is about confiscating his wealth. The indictment published by Romania’s anti-organized crime prosecuting unit also called for confiscating land, buildings, 15 luxury cars, and cryptocurrency wallets.
"I'm sure this case has absolutely nothing to do with stealing my wealth," Andrew Tate wrote in his tweet after the reports surfaced.
Trafficking of adults carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years, as does rape. The trial will not start immediately and is expected to take several years. A Romanian judge now has 60 days to inspect the files before the case can be sent to trial.
