Andrew Tate indicted in Romania for minor trafficking and money laundering
Romanian prosecutors have charged Andrew and Tristan Tate with trafficking minors, sex with a minor, and money laundering. The brothers, jailed in the US since July, deny all wrongdoing.
Tate brothers face new Romanian indictment over webcam exploitation scheme
Romanian prosecutors have formally indicted Andrew Tate on charges of trafficking minors, sex with a minor, and money laundering, Google News IE — Crime (en) reports, citing an Al Jazeera account of Friday's development.
The indictment adds to mounting legal pressure on the controversial social media influencer, who along with his brother Tristan has been held in a US jail since late July, after prosecutors in the United Kingdom requested their extradition on rape charges.
Romania's anti-organised crime agency DIICOT said in a statement that the Tate brothers recruited victims by falsely claiming to seek a relationship or marriage, then forced them to produce sexually exploitative content for a webcam business. Tristan was indicted for complicity in the case.
Victim recruited in Britain aged 15
According to DIICOT, one of Andrew Tate's victims was 15 years old when he first approached her in Britain in 2012. He subsequently moved her to Bucharest, where he used physical violence and psychological intimidation to force her into producing indecent images for social media. Tristan, prosecutors said, also used physical aggression to coerce the same victim.
The brothers retained $1.25m — approximately 80 percent of the victim's earnings — from the webcam income she generated. Prosecutors allege they attempted to launder those funds through the purchase of four luxury cars.
DIICOT further alleges that the brothers paid or pressured victims in an attempt to dissuade them "not to give statements or to give false statements."
Brothers deny all allegations
Eugen Vidineac, a Romanian lawyer representing the Tates, issued a statement rejecting the charges in full.
"We will examine every aspect of [the indictment] with the same level of scrutiny and we will challenge any evidential, procedural or legal deficiencies through the appropriate judicial process," Vidineac said. "Our clients continue to reject the allegations against them."
Andrew and Tristan Tate are former kickboxers holding dual US and British citizenship who built an extensive social media following, particularly among young men. Their online content has frequently argued against gender equality and in favour of male dominance.
Case heads to preliminary chamber
The brothers were arrested in Florida in late July following the UK's extradition request. Andrew Tate's official social media accounts have since described the conditions of his Miami jail and characterised the charges as politically motivated persecution.
Romanian authorities first opened an investigation into the brothers for potential offences including human trafficking in December 2022, roughly five years after they relocated to the country. Andrew Tate had previously boasted in online videos that he had moved to Romania because law enforcement was more permissive there.
It remained unclear on Friday whether DIICOT would seek their extradition from the United States.
Romanian law allows prosecution in absentia, and the case now passes to a preliminary court chamber for judicial review. Although the law provides a 60-day window for the preliminary chamber judge to finalise the case's advancement, indictments in Romania routinely take considerably longer in practice.
This is not the first time the brothers have faced Romanian charges. A previous indictment on human trafficking counts was overturned in late 2024, when the Bucharest Court of Appeals returned the case to prosecutors after ruling that some evidence was inadmissible.
Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)