Already held in Miami, Tate brothers face new sex-trafficking charges in Romania

Andrew and Tristan Tate, the controversial social-media influencers being held in a Miami federal jail while fighting extradition to the United Kingdom, have been indicted in Romania in a new case accusing them of trafficking a 15-year-old girl, sexually exploiting minors and laundering proceeds from an online pornography business.

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The indictment, announced Friday by Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, or DIICOT, adds another layer to the sprawling international legal troubles facing the dual U.S.-British citizens, who are already wanted in Britain on charges that include rape and human trafficking.

Andrew Tate, 39, was charged with trafficking minors, sex with a minor and money laundering. His younger brother Tristan, 38, was charged with complicity in the case, according to DIICOT. Both brothers have repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

Romanian prosecutors allege that Andrew Tate recruited a 15-year-old girl in Luton, England, in 2012 by pretending that he wanted a romantic relationship with her. Authorities say the girl was subsequently subjected to threats, emotional blackmail, surveillance and physical violence and forced to produce pornographic material and participate in online webcam sessions.

The brothers later moved to Romania, where prosecutors allege the exploitation continued.

DIICOT says Tristan Tate knew the girl was a minor and had been recruited by his brother and that he helped supervise her activities and manage money generated by the webcam business. Prosecutors allege that the brothers obtained more than $1.2 million from the girl’s webcam activity.

Romanian authorities also accuse Andrew Tate of repeatedly having sex with another 15-year-old girl between December 2020 and mid-2021.

Prosecutors further accuse the brothers of trying to influence victims and witnesses by offering them money, telephones and legal assistance or intimidating them into withholding statements or providing false ones.

Authorities are seeking the confiscation of four luxury vehicles worth approximately 825,000 euros, or about $957,000. Prosecutors allege the vehicles were purchased as part of an effort to disguise the origin of money generated through human trafficking.

The brothers reject the accusations.

“We will examine every aspect of it with the same level of scrutiny and we will challenge any evidential, procedural or legal deficiencies through the appropriate judicial process,” Eugen Constantin Vidineac, a Romanian lawyer representing the brothers, told Newsweek.

“Our clients continue to reject the allegations against them,” he said. “They have the right to the presumption of innocence, the right to properly examine the evidence relied upon against them and the right to mount an effective defense.”

The Romanian indictment comes while the brothers remain at the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami, where they have been held since British authorities sought their extradition in July. U.S. Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis is considering whether they can be released under strict conditions while the extradition case proceeds.

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The timing of the new charges could prove significant because the Romanian proceedings were one of the principal arguments that the Tates raised during an unusually lengthy bail hearing in Miami last week.

During nearly eight hours of testimony and arguments, the brothers said remaining incarcerated in South Florida was making it difficult for them to communicate with their Romanian lawyers and participate effectively in proceedings there. Andrew Tate became emotional on the witness stand, saying he feared losing a case that he had spent years fighting because he was stuck in an American jail.

“All I want is a fair day in court,” Tate told Louis.

The brothers have been under investigation in Romania since 2022, when they were arrested in Bucharest in a separate case alleging that they participated in a criminal organization that lured women to Romania for sexual exploitation. Andrew Tate was also accused of rape.

The Tates were formally indicted in that case in 2023, but a Romanian court sent the case back to prosecutors after finding legal and procedural irregularities. The case was not dismissed.

That history figured prominently in the brothers’ testimony in Miami last week.

Andrew Tate told Louis that he believed he had successfully challenged the Romanian prosecution once and feared being unable to defend himself adequately if he remained incarcerated in the United States.

“I don’t wanna get stabbed in the back,” he said. “I can beat the Romanians. I beat them, and I’m innocent.”

Andrew Tate, a former professional kickboxer, built a massive following around an aggressively masculine internet persona known as “Top G,” projecting an image of extraordinary wealth, luxury cars, private jets, cryptocurrency and near-limitless international mobility. He has also drawn widespread criticism for statements that have been characterized as misogynistic.

That carefully constructed image has become an issue in the Miami extradition case because prosecutors argue that the brothers’ wealth and global mobility make them a serious flight risk.

Andrew Tate, however, testified last week that much of the image was exaggerated entertainment and marketing.

He denied being a billionaire and testified that he did not own a private jet, yacht or Bugatti. Some of the luxury items displayed in his online content were things that he never actually owned, he said.

This article was supplemented with information from el Nuevo Herald’s wire services.

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