BUCHAREST, ROMANIA: Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan, the controversial influencers under investigation by Romanian prosecutors, now face upgraded charges of human trafficking that may result in their house arrest being extended. Initially accused of separate counts of trafficking, the brothers were arrested in December 2022 following a raid on their opulent mansion after allegations of human trafficking and rape surfaced.
However, a development in the case led to Tate and Tristan's release from custody and being placed under house arrest. The Bucharest Court of Appeal overturned the decision to deny them bail, allowing them to await further legal proceedings from the comfort of their residence.
'More serious crime'
Tate and Tristan received a summons at the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) on June 13. The Romanian prosecutors, entrusted with the task of examining the duo's alleged involvement in human trafficking, explained that they had decided to shift the investigation's direction from examining individual instances of trafficking to a more comprehensive charge of "human trafficking in continued form." This adjustment reflects the heightened gravity of the crime being pursued.
Romanian authorities announced a significant shift in the ongoing investigation led by the DIICOT, indicating a transition towards probing a "more serious crime" than originally anticipated. Moreover, officials have revealed the inclusion of an additional survivor in the case, resulting in a broader scope of the investigation and an increased number of women stepping forward with allegations against the Tate brothers, now surpassing six in total.
Tate and Tristan have been under house arrest ever since their release from a Romanian prison. Recently, their period of house arrest was extended by an additional 30 days, until June 30. There were concerns that if the charges "broadened" by the Romanian prosecutors were proven to be true, their house arrest could be extended once again. In a more severe scenario, they could potentially face imprisonment for up to 10 years if convicted of adult trafficking under Romanian laws.
Despite the serious charges brought against them, Tate and Tristan have vehemently denied all the allegations of human trafficking, rape and sexual exploitation. In response to the recent changes in the investigation, The brothers' the legal team asserted that these modifications were made in the best "legal interest" of the suspects. They said, "The legal framework has been revised and altered to ensure an impartial investigation is upheld.”
In addition, DIICOT prosecutors have opened another probe into a Romanian individual closely associated with the Tate brothers. This separate inquiry pertains to allegations of human trafficking and the formation of a criminal organization aimed at the sexual exploitation of seven women. According to prosecutors, Vlad Obuzic, whose social media presence includes pictures featuring him alongside the Tate brothers and two other suspects, reportedly lured the survivors by deceitfully feigning romantic interest or intentions of marriage. Subsequently, the survivors were coerced into producing pornographic content for social media platforms, with the majority of the profits being retained by the suspects.
As per the Daily Mail, prosecutors stated, "To ensure the victims' loyalty and that they will perform only to the benefit of the members of the group, they were forced to tattoo the name or face of the group member exploiting them."
'They dont have any evidence'
Tate took to Twitter to address the recent developments in the case, stating, "Looks like option 2. I dont fully understand Romanian law. So let me make this simple: Today I went to Dicott and they rearranged all the accusations and restructured them in a way that benefitted me massively because they dont have any evidence. Now they will try and charge me after jumping through the hoops that even made that possible with a lack of evidence."
Tate alleged that DIICOT had reorganized and modified all the allegations, presenting them in a manner that greatly favored him due to the lack of evidence. He mentioned that this was done as a necessity to charge him with a weak case, emphasizing that dropping the charges at this point would result in public outcry.
Tate wrote, "Diicot rearranged all accusations and restructured them in a way that benefitted me massively because they dont have any evidence. They needed to do this to charge me with such a weak file. Cant drop it now can they? Imagine the uproar."
