Human trafficking case on Andrew Tate sent back to prosecutors

BUCHAREST: The Bucharest court of appeals ruled on Thursday against sending internet personality Andrew Tate to trial on charges of human trafficking and sent the case back to prosecutors.

The ruling deals a blow to anti-organized crime prosecuting unit DIICOT, which officially indicted Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects in June 2023.

The Bucharest Court ruled in April of this year to send the case to trial, a decision Tate has appealed.

In November, the Bucharest Court of Appeals removed several pieces of evidence from the case file, including statements given by two main alleged victims and witness testimonies from the Tate brothers, both of which it deemed inadmissible.

The court also cited flaws in the indictment and legal rights violations. On Thursday, it decided to send the case back to DIICOT.

“They’ve had years to build their case — years to tear apart my life, target everyone I know, and even subpoena the mother of my child,” Tate said in a statement.

“And yet, they have nothing.”

DIICOT prosecutors were not immediately available for comment.

The Tate brothers, both former kickboxers with dual U.S. and British citizenship, are the highest profile suspects facing trial for human trafficking in Romania.

In August, prosecutors said they had started a second criminal investigation against the Tates and four other suspects on accusations of forming an organised criminal group, human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering.

The Tate brothers also have a British arrest warrant and will be extradited after Romanian trial proceedings finish, a court ruled in March.

Andrew Tate, brother to have $3.4 mln seized for unpaid tax, UK court rules

Earlier, a London judge ruled on Wednesday that British police can seize nearly 2.7 million pounds ($3.4 million) from Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan over unpaid tax.

Britain’s Devon and Cornwall Police took legal action at Westminster Magistrates’ Court against the Tates and an unnamed third person earlier this year.

The force’s lawyers said the Tates had not paid any tax on around 21 million pounds of revenue from online businesses between 2014 and 2022 and that funds in seven accounts should be forfeited.

Judge Paul Goldspring said in a written ruling that the Tates had been liable to register with the tax authorities and declare and pay tax on revenue in Britain and/or Romania, where they have lived since 2017.

Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate are currently facing human trafficking and other criminal charges in Romania, which they deny.

Goldspring found that Andrew and Tristan Tate’s “entire financial arrangements are consistent with concerted tax evasion and money laundering”.

“I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that they have engaged in long-standing, deliberate conduct in order to evade their tax/VAT liabilities in both jurisdictions,” the judge added.

Andrew Tate said in a statement: “First, they labeled me a human trafficker, yet they couldn’t find a single woman to stand against me.

“When that narrative crumbled, they turned to outright theft — freezing my accounts for over two years and now seizing everything they could. This is not justice, it’s a coordinated attack on anyone who dares to challenge the system.”

Tate, a self-described misogynist, has gained millions of fans by promoting an ultra-masculine lifestyle that critics say denigrates women.

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