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A court in the Romanian capital Bucharest has rejected an appeal by divisive social media personality Andrew Tate against the confiscation of assets by prosecutors, who are investigating the man on charges of being part of an organized crime group and human trafficking, officials said Wednesday.
Tate, 36, a British-US national with 4.5 million followers on Twitter, was arrested on December 29 in Bucharest, along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women. On Tuesday, the court upheld the judge’s December 30 decision to extend the detention from 24 hours to 30 days.
In a separate hearing at the Bucharest Court, Tate lost an appeal that challenged the assets seized by prosecutors, including property and a fleet of luxury cars, said Ramona Bolla, spokeswoman for the Romanian anti-organized crime agency DIICOT.
The court “decided that the seizure was valid and [that] that stuff stays with us,” he told The Associated Press.
Prosecutors investigating the case have so far seized 15 luxury cars – 11 in the December attack and four last week. At least seven vehicles were owned by the Tate brothers. More than 10 properties and land are owned by registered companies. Bolla said it was unclear whether any assets seized since December were included in Wednesday’s appeal.
Victim compensation is possible
If prosecutors can prove the Tates made money through human trafficking, Bolla said those assets could be used to cover the costs of the investigation and restitution for the victims.
Before Wednesday’s court verdict, Constantin Gliga, one of the lawyers representing Tate, told the media that the asset seizure was disproportionate to the charges.
DIICOT said it had identified six victims in the human trafficking case who were subjected to “acts of physical violence and mental coercion” and were sexually exploited by members of the alleged crime syndicate.
The agency said the victims were tricked by pretenses of love, and then intimidated, guarded and subjected to other control tactics while being forced to perform pornography intended to earn money for the alleged victims.
Tate, a former professional kickboxer who has been living in Romania since 2017, was previously banned from various social media platforms known for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech.
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