BUCHAREST — A Romanian court has ordered house arrest for internet celebrity Andrew Tate, one of six people detained in a human trafficking and sexual exploitation investigation, his lawyer said Thursday.
The former professional kickboxer and his brother Tristan were among six people detained for an initial 24-hour period on Wednesday after Romania’s anti-organized crime prosecutor’s office, DIICOT, carried out searches of four homes in Ilfov county and in the city of Bucharest.
DIICOT asked a Bucharest court to detain the Tate brothers for 30 days, but the judge decided to place Andrew Tate under house arrest and Tristan under judicial control for that period, said their representative, Matea Petrescu.
“The Taits welcome the verdict and categorically deny all allegations levelled against them, stressing that the allegations are without merit and not supported by substantial evidence,” Petrescu said in a statement.
Tait had already been indicted in mid-2023 along with his brother and two Romanian female suspects on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal ring for the sexual exploitation of women, charges he denies.
Prior to their latest detention, the brothers were subject to a travel ban, which meant they could travel freely within Romania but could not leave the country.
DIICOT said in a statement that it had ordered the detention of the six on charges including forming an organized crime group, human trafficking, trafficking in minors, sexual intercourse with minors and money laundering.
The court said it had asked that three of the accused in custody remain in custody and the other be placed under house arrest.
According to DIICOT, two of the defendants used the “lover boy” technique, in which they tricked victims into believing they were in a romantic relationship, and forced 34 victims to create pornography that they then sold online, earning them more than $2.8 million and 887,000 tokens.
DIICOT alleges that one of the defendants coerced a 17-year-old minor into producing pornography in the UK and Romania, making a profit of $1.5 million, and that the same defendant also engaged in repeated sexual relations with a 15-year-old victim.
