Romanian prosecutors have filed a new slate of criminal charges against Andrew Tate while he remains jailed in the United States fighting extradition to Britain. Tate was formally indicted Friday on allegations including trafficking a minor, money laundering, sexual intercourse with a minor and witness tampering. His brother, Tristan Tate, was also indicted for alleged complicity.
The case includes accusations involving a girl who prosecutors say was 15 when Andrew Tate began pursuing her in Britain in 2012. Romania’s anti-organized crime unit DIICOT alleges that he later brought her to Bucharest and used violence and intimidation to force her into producing sexually explicit material online. Prosecutors claim the brothers kept approximately $1.25 million generated from her video chat work, amounting to roughly 80 percent of her earnings, and attempted to launder the money by purchasing four luxury vehicles, according to Reuters. Both brothers deny wrongdoing.
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Andrew Tate Is Already Fighting Extradition From A Miami Jail
The Romanian indictment adds another active prosecution while the Tates are being held in federal custody in Miami. They were arrested on July 18 after Britain requested their extradition, and a federal judge has been weighing whether they should remain in jail while that process moves forward. British prosecutors have separately authorized charges against both brothers involving allegations of rape and human trafficking. Those accusations are unrelated to the newly filed Romanian case, and the brothers have denied them as well. Reuters reported last week that the extradition fight could take months.
It is not yet clear whether Romania will make its own request for the brothers to be extradited from the United States. DIICOT told Reuters that the question had not been decided. Romanian law also allows a defendant to be tried in absentia, but the new case must first pass through a preliminary chamber, where a judge reviews the legality of the indictment and the evidence before a trial can begin.
The brothers’ attorney in Romania, Eugen Vidineac, said their legal team intends to scrutinize the new indictment and challenge any problems it finds in the evidence or procedure. “Our clients continue to reject the allegations against them,” he said. For now, the Romanian prosecution joins an already complicated international legal fight, with the Tates sitting in a Miami jail as courts in multiple countries determine which case will reach them first.
