Tate brothers maintain innocence as they arrive at Bucharest Court of Appeal over arrest extension

Andrew Tate yells ‘You know I’m innocent’ as he arrives at Romanian court with his brother to appeal their detention over alleged sex trafficking

Andrew and Tristan Tate arrived this morning at the Bucharest Court of Appeal to contest the extension to their detention period.

Andrew, 36, was heard shouting, ‘you know I’m innocent!’ as he stepped out of a police van. 

The Court of Appeal will soon review whether the brothers and their alleged accomplices pose a danger to society.

They are currently held under investigation for allegedly ‘forming an organised criminal group, human trafficking and rape’.

If the appeal is successful, Andrew and Tristan Tate, 34, will be released immediately. If not, they will remain in detention until at least 27 February. 

Former kickboxing champion Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan arrive in court to attend their appeal in Bucharest, Romania on 1 February 2023

Former kickboxing champion Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan arrive in court to attend their appeal in Bucharest, Romania on 1 February 2023

Andrew (L) and Tristan (R) Tate pictured on 1 February going to the Bucharest Court of Appeal

Andrew (L) and Tristan (R) Tate pictured on 1 February going to the Bucharest Court of Appeal

Who is Andrew Tate?

Andrew Tate rose to fame as a kickboxer in the 2000s, winning the British International Sport Karate Association cruiserweight championship in 2009, and an ISKA world title in 2011.

He later founded a self-described ‘webcam pimping’ company around this time with his brother, which he later admitted was a ‘scam’, using women to exploit customers for money.

Tate was removed from the Big Brother house after a week after footage emerged of him whipping and slapping an ex-girlfriend, which both later said was consensual.

Tate moved to Romania to live in a compound surrounded by armed guards in 2017. He was banned from Twitter for comments attributing ‘some responsibility’ to rape victims.

Prosecutors accuse him of moving women to Romania and using physical violence and mental coercion to force them to produce explicit materials to share and sell online.

Meanwhile, old clips of Andrew Tate became popular through TikTok in 2022 as he promoted his online ‘Hustler’s University’ – a paid online community claiming to help users to ‘get rich quick’.

In March 2022, Andrew Tate was accused of raping a woman he moved to Romania. Tate says the allegation was made up after he refused to buy her a house. 

The brothers’ Romanian safehouse was raided in April 2022 after authorities believed two women were  being held against their will. The Tates were eventually released but the investigation was reported ongoing.

Tate was restored to Twitter by Elon Musk, soon after provoked a spat with Greta Thunberg and was shortly after arrested. 

Romanian police held the brothers on preventive arrest from 30 December, extended on 20 January until 27 February.

The Tate brothers deny the accusations made against them. 

The brothers, as well Georgiana Naghel and Luana Alexandra Radu, are held in Romania on a pre-trial detention.

They received a preventive arrest warrant on 30 December 2022 and have since been held by the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) in Romania, where both are based. 

Prosecutors initially argued the brothers, if granted bail, could ‘exercise psychic control’ over the people they are accused of trafficking.

Both have maintained their innocence. 

On 20 February, the Bucharest Tribunal extended the preventive arrest warrant from 29 January until 27 February, and could extend further.

The Tate brothers previously lost an appeal against their 30-day detention in  January.

The four detained have no been officially charged of any crimes yet, and maintain their innocence.

Prosecutors claim the brothers lured women into the studio where they were sexually exploited through ‘acts of physical violence and mental coercion (through intimidation, constant supervision, control and invocation of alleged debts)’, and made to produce and share pornographic material. 

Andrew and his brother moved into a converted warehouse in Romania, which they staffed with armed guards, in 2017.

At their safehouse on the outskirts of Bucharest, the Tate brothers had a video chat studio where several women were found during a police raid in April 2022.

Andrew Tate is also accused of raping the Moldovan woman, who he alleges followed him from London, in March 2022, which he categorically denies. 

In January, he old the Bucharest Court of Appeal that the alleged victim moved to Romania with him voluntarily in November 2021.

Tate claimed she filed a rape allegation nearly six months later when he refused to give her money to buy a house and become a TikTok star. 

‘It’s time for this circus to end,’ he said at the time.

DIICOT prosecutors claim that victims of the Tate brothers were held under constant supervision against their will in the armed safehouse near Bucharest and forced to make pornographic content to be shared online.

They claim the women were sexually exploited, physically abused and mentally coerced (‘through intimidation, […] control and invocation of alleged debts’) by members of the group for financial gain.

Andrew Tate (R) pictured with police this morning ahead of his appeal in Bucharest, Romania

Andrew Tate (R) pictured with police this morning ahead of his appeal in Bucharest, Romania

Andrew Tate (C) and his brother are under investigation for allegedly forming a criminal group, human trafficking and rape

Andrew Tate (C) and his brother are under investigation for allegedly forming a criminal group, human trafficking and rape

source: dailymail.co.uk