Romanian prosecutors indict Andrew Tate for trafficking minors, money laundering

Romanian prosecutors officially indicted social media influencer Andrew Tate on Friday for trafficking minors, money laundering, sex with a minor and witness tampering and his brother Tristan for complicity, years after they began investigating them.

The Tate brothers, former kickboxers with dual US and British ​citizenship, were arrested in Miami in late July after Britain requested their extradition.

Mainly based in Romania since 2017, they have been under criminal investigation in the country on charges including human trafficking since December 2022.

Romanian prosecutors said the Tates recruited their victims by seducing them and falsely claiming to want a relationship or marriage, before forcing them to produce pornographic content for a webcam business.

They have denied all wrongdoing. “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,” a Romanian lawyer for the Tates, Eugen Vidineac, said in a statement.

“Our clients continue to reject the allegations against them.”

The Tate brothers remain in jail in the US while a judge decides on the request for their extradition to Britain, where they are wanted on rape charges.

The spokesperson for the Romanian anti-organized crime prosecuting unit DIICOT — which is investigating the Tates — said it was not immediately clear whether the unit will seek their extradition from the United States.

The Tates can be tried in absentia in Romania, but the trial will not start immediately. Under Romanian law, the indictment gets sent to a preliminary court chamber, where a judge will inspect the case files to ensure legality.

While the law states that the preliminary chamber judge has 60 days to finalize the report, indictments routinely take significantly longer.

DIICOT said one of Andrew Tate’s victims was 15 when he seduced her in Britain in 2012, before moving her to the Romanian capital Bucharest and using physical violence and mental intimidation to sexually exploit her by forcing her to produce pornographic content for social media sites.

His brother Tristan was an accessory, the unit said, using physical aggression to coerce the victim.

Prosecutors said the brothers kept $1.25 million from the videochat income generated by the victim, roughly 80% of all her gains. The brothers tried to launder the funds by buying four luxury cars, they added.

The brothers were previously indicted in Romania on charges of human trafficking, but in late 2024 the Bucharest court of appeals sent the case back to prosecutors after deeming some evidence inadmissible.

Andrew Tate, a self-described misogynist, previously said he moved to Romania because law enforcement there was more lax.

Both brothers have grown their following of mainly young men by building a lavish, hyper-macho image of driving fast cars and dating beautiful women.

罗马尼亚检察官周五正式起诉社交媒体影响者安德鲁·泰特，罪名包括贩卖未成年人、洗钱、与未成年人发生性关系和妨碍证人作证，并起诉他的兄弟特里斯坦，罪名是共犯。此前，检察官已对他们展开调查多年。

泰特兄弟是前自由搏击运动员，拥有美国和英国双重国籍。7 月下旬，英国要求引渡他们后，他们在迈阿密被捕。

他们自 2017 年以来主要在罗马尼亚活动，自 2022 年 12 月以来，该国一直在对他们进行刑事调查，指控包括人口贩运。

罗马尼亚检察官表示，泰特夫妇通过引诱受害者并谎称想要建立恋爱关系或结婚来招募她们，然后强迫她们为网络摄像头业务制作色情内容。

他们否认所有不当行为。泰特夫妇的罗马尼亚律师尤金·维迪纳克在一份声明中表示：“我们将以同样的严格程度审查（起诉书）的每一个方面，并将通过适当的司法程序对任何证据、程序或法律缺陷提出质疑。”

“我们的客户继续否认对他们的指控。”

泰特兄弟目前仍被关押在美国监狱，法官正在决定是否将他们引渡到英国，他们因强奸指控在英国被通缉。

负责调查泰特夫妇的罗马尼亚反有组织犯罪检察部门 DIICOT 的发言人表示，目前尚不清楚该部门是否会寻求从美国引渡他们。

泰特夫妇在罗马尼亚可以被缺席审判，但审判不会立即开始。根据罗马尼亚法律，起诉书会送交预审法庭，由法官审查案卷以确保其合法性。

虽然法律规定预审法官有 60 天的时间完成报告，但起诉书的撰写通常需要更长的时间。

DIICOT 表示，安德鲁·泰特的一名受害者在 2012 年于英国被他诱骗时年仅 15 岁，之后他将她带到罗马尼亚首都布加勒斯特，并通过身体暴力和精神恐吓，强迫她为社交媒体网站制作色情内容，从而对她进行性剥削。

警方称，他的兄弟特里斯坦是同谋，使用暴力手段胁迫受害者。

检方称，这对兄弟从受害者通过视频聊天获得的收入中私吞了125万美元，约占其全部收益的80%。他们还表示，这对兄弟试图通过购买四辆豪车来洗钱。

这对兄弟此前在罗马尼亚因贩卖人口罪被起诉，但在 2024 年底，布加勒斯特上诉法院认为某些证据不可采纳，并将此案发回检察官处。

自称厌女者的安德鲁·泰特此前曾表示，他搬到罗马尼亚是因为那里的执法比较宽松。

两兄弟通过打造驾驶豪车、与美女约会的奢华、极度阳刚的形象，吸引了大量以年轻男性为主的粉丝。