Romanian authorities on Sunday, January 15, said they have seized nearly $4 million worth of assets belonging to controversial internet personality Andrew Tate over the past week as he and his brother are investigated on allegations of human trafficking and rape.
Andrew Tate, his brother and two Romanian female suspects were detained on December 29 on charges of forming a criminal gang to exploit six women sexually. They have denied wrongdoing.
The detained challenged their 30-day arrest warrant, but the Bucharest court of appeals rejected it this week and said they should remain in police custody.
Last week, the National Agency for the Management of Seized Assets took into administration 29 movable assets, including luxury vehicles and watches, and various amounts of cash in different currencies, the country’s Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ANABI) said in a press release on Saturday.
Reports from Romania say several cars, including a Rolls-Royce, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, were taken from Tate’s compound on the outskirts of the capital, Bucharest, to be transported to a storage location.
Andrew and his brother Tristan Tate were detained in Romania in December as prosecutors pursued claims of human trafficking and rape.
Authorities in Romania said police served search warrants at five homes and took four suspects into custody — two Britons and two Romanians — as part of the investigation.
Andrew Tate, a former contestant on the UK reality show Big Brother, gained popularity for misogynistic remarks and hate speech.
Tate, who holds U.S. and British nationality, has said women are partially responsible for being raped and that they belong to men.
He openly advocates violence against women.
His remarks got him banned from all major social media platforms, although his Twitter account became active again in November after Elon Musk acquired the platform.
