Romania's BUCHAREST A court in Romania heard a case against social media personality Andrew Tate on Wednesday. He is accused of raping a woman, engaging in human trafficking, and organizing a group to steal women.

On Wednesday, six bodyguards accompanied Tate and his brother Tristan as they appeared before a court in Bucharest, the country's capital. Tristan is also accused of the crimes.

In the case, prosecutors have also brought charges against two Romanian women. The four defendants allegedly created a criminal organization in 2021 "in order to commit the crime of human trafficking" not only in Romania but also in the US and UK, according to allegations made by Romania's anti-organized crime agency.

The agency claimed that seven female victims were deceived into travelling to Romania, where the group physically assaulted and sexually exploited them. According to the statement, one suspect is accused of raping a woman twice in March 2022.

Since 2017, Tate, 36, has lived in Romania. The former professional kickboxer has asserted repeatedly that Romanian prosecutors lack proof and that the investigation is an attempt to muzzle him politically.

Before the hearing on Wednesday, Tate was asked by reporters outside the court, "How much money have you made from trafficking women?" He replied, "Zero."

Mateea Petrescu, a representative for Tate, stated on Tuesday that the brothers were ready to "demonstrate their innocence and vindicate their reputation."

According to Petrescu, "Tate's legal team is ready to cooperate fully with the relevant authorities, presenting all necessary evidence to exonerate the brothers and expose any misunderstandings or false accusations."

The two suspects from Romania as well as the Tate brothers, who hold dual U.S. and British citizenship, were apprehended in Bucharest in late December. On March 31, the brothers' plea to be placed under home arrest instead of police custody was successful.


With more than 6 million Twitter followers, Tate is a prominent presence in social media. Many of his fans are young males and schoolchildren. For his speech and his misogynistic remarks, which included saying that women should take responsibility for experiencing sexual assault, he had already been banned from TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook.

Last year, Tate's account was reinstated by Twitter's new CEO, Elon Musk, and he went back to using the service. Tate continues to generate a sizable following among young males and teenage boys who are enticed to his "misogynist, homophobic, and racist content" by the opulent lifestyle the influencer displays online, according to Hope Not Hate, a nonprofit fighting far-right extremism in the U.K.

According to Romania's anti-organized crime organization DIICOT, the seven accused victims were lured in with bogus confessions of love and driven to the county of Ilfov, where they were coerced into participating in pornography. Prosecutors claimed that "intimidation, constant surveillance," and assertions that the women were in debt, were used to control the women.

According to the statement from the agency, prosecutors ordered the seizure of the Tate brothers' assets, which included 15 high-end cars, pricey watches, and roughly $3 million in Bitcoin.

A number of British women are also seeking civil lawsuits against Tate for damages on the grounds that they were the victims of sexual assault. In a recent interview with the BBC, Tate refuted claims that he fostered a misogynistic atmosphere and that he used women as bargaining chips.