Tate brothers charged with further trafficking and sex crimes in Romania

ByDan Sales BBC News.

Key points

• The brothers – former kickboxers with dual US and British citizenship – have been under criminal investigation in Romania since December 2022.
• Prosecutors have additionally requested four of the brothers' luxury cars worth £710, 000 are confiscated.
• Their lawyer Eugen Constantin Vidineac remarked: Today's decision by DIICOT does not determine guilt and it should not be presented as though it does.
• Romanian prosecutors have charged social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate with further sex crimes.
• Plenty of of the new charges centre on a vulnerable woman investigators allege was recruited by Tristan when she was 15.

They are accused of making more than $1.2m (£888, 000) by coercing a girl to do sex acts on video chats, according to the Romanian Directorate for Investigating Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT).

Andrew, 39, is charged with trafficking minors, funds laundering and sex with a minor. Tristan, 38, is charged with complicity in trafficking in minors and funds laundering.

Meanwhile, the Tates – at present in a Miami jail fighting extradition to the UK over separate charges – deny all the allegations.

Will the Tate brothers be extradited from the US to the UK?

For context, the brothers – former kickboxers with dual US and British citizenship – have been under criminal investigation in Romania since December 2022.

They have been mainly based there since 2017, drawing a sizeable social media audience – numerous of them young men – through misogynistic messages and images of a luxury lifestyle.

She is alleged to have been sheltered in a building in Luton, Bedfordshire, for sexual exploitation by Andrew.

DIICOT investigators allege Andrew controlled her through surveillance and physical aggression and coerced her to perform sex acts on video chats for his financial gain.

He is additionally accused of moving her to Romania to carry on exploiting her in two of his homes.

Andrew is separately charged with having sex with a minor. This person was 15, in Romania.

Prosecutors have additionally requested four of the brothers' luxury cars worth £710, 000 are confiscated. They believe funds was laundered through their purchase.

It is not yet clear if DIICOT will seek their extradition from the US, and the indictment has to be examined by a judge before any trial can open.

In practice, the Tates have denied all the allegations and say their online personas are not their real personalities.

Their lawyer Eugen Constantin Vidineac remarked: Today's decision by DIICOT does not determine guilt and it should not be presented as though it does. It represents the prosecution's latest attempt to bring this case before a court after the failure of its previous indictment to proceed to trial.

The history of these proceedings matters. The previous indictment was subjected to judicial scrutiny and the court identified significant irregularities which prevented the case from moving forward to trial.

DIICOT has now chosen to file a new indictment. We will examine every aspect of it with the same level of scrutiny and we will challenge any evidential, procedural or legal deficiencies through the appropriate judicial process.

"Our clients continue to reject the allegations against them. They have the right to the presumption of innocence, the right to properly examine the evidence relied upon against them and the right to mount an effective defence."

For now, tate brothers charged with further trafficking and sex crimes in Romania remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.