Romanian authorities raided the Bucharest home of social media influencer Andrew Tate on Wednesday, the latest step in the country's investigation into human trafficking allegations against the polarizing internet personality.
Tate, 37, and his brother, Tristan, 36, who were arrested in 2022 near Bucharest along with two Romanian women, were indicted by Romanian prosecutors last year and are awaiting trial on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
On Wednesday, masked police officers from Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, searched four homes in Bucharest and nearby Ilfov County during their investigation, according to the Associated Press. Dozens of officers and forensic personnel searched the former kickboxer’s sprawling estate on the outskirts of the capital as they investigated allegations of human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sexual relations with a minor, influence statements and money laundering.
Police vans took the Tates to DIICOT's offices for questioning, and the brothers were greeted by a small crowd of journalists and supporters when they arrived at the agency, the BBC reported. Neither brother was handcuffed, but they were escorted by heavily armed police officers. Tate told a local blogger that he “didn't know” why he was back at DIICOT and his lawyer, Eugen Vidineac, told the BBC that the latest allegations were still unclear and that he had not yet seen the case file.
“Throughout the criminal process, the persons under investigation benefit from the rights and procedural guarantees provided for in the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as the presumption of innocence,” DIICOT told AP.
Andrew Tate spokeswoman Mateea Petrescu did not address the allegations involving minors, but told AP that “while the charges in the search warrant are not yet fully cleared, they include suspicions of human trafficking and money laundering.” Petrescu added that Tate’s legal team was present.
Hours later, Tate returned to X sharing his reaction to the raid.
“The Matrix is real and they have a tried and tested playbook. Smear is their #1 tool and prosecution is punishment. But unfortunately for them, good always wins in the end,” he tweeted.
“I was raiding the house for 9 hours and an armed police officer looked at me apologetically and shrugged. He said, ‘You’ve made someone very angry,’” Tate added, later tweeting: “I don’t have a phone because the police took it from me. But when I speak out loud, my words are magically heard by someone on a computer far away.”
The brothers have dual British and American nationality and have amassed millions of followers on social media. Andrew Tate, a self-described misogynist who has reportedly lived in Romania since 2017, has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors there have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy to silence him. The brothers have said they “categorically reject all charges.”
Separately, the Tates were arrested earlier this year after four women reported them to UK authorities for alleged sexual violence and physical abuse between 2012 and 2015. However, the Crown Prosecution Service refused to prosecute them, so the alleged victims turned to crowdfunding to cover their legal costs while pursuing a civil claim against Andrew Tate. In March, a Romanian court approved a UK request to extradite the Tates over allegations of rape and sexual assault; they can be extradited once their court proceedings in Romania conclude.
Last month, a court overturned an earlier ruling that allowed the Tate brothers to leave Romania while awaiting trial, AP reported. The previous court ruled on July 5 that they could leave the country as long as they remained in the European Union.
