A court in Romania has ruled that one of the public prosecutors’ cases against the self-styled “misogynist influencer” Andrew Tate contains numerous irregularities and ordered them to amend or withdraw it within five days.
In a setback for the country’s anti-organised crime prosecuting unit, Diicot, the Bucharest court of appeal said on Tuesday it “considered some of the defence’s objections valid” and had found several flaws in the indictment.
The former professional kickboxer, 37, and his brother Tristan, 36, were arrested in 2022 and formally indicted in mid-2023, along with two Romanian women, on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
The four have denied all the allegations against them. The appeals court also ordered that some evidence be removed, including witness statements by two of the alleged victims and statements by the brothers, which were deemed inadmissible.
It said prosecutors had not properly explained the charges against Andrew Tate to one alleged victim, charges against the female suspects were not properly presented, and the indictment did not specify amounts related to assets confiscated in the case.
Tate, a dual British-US citizen, has been banned from various social media platforms for misogynistic views and hate speech but has more than 10 million followers on X, where he promotes an ultra-masculine lifestyle that critics say denigrates women.
On Tuesday he https://twitter.com/Cobratate/status/1858837354024169605: “The prosecution knew they were lies. We knew they were lies … They tried to break us. They wanted us destroyed, they wanted us afraid … It was a game of killing us with lies before a judge exposed the truth.”
One of the brothers’ lawyers, Eugen Vidineac, described the ruling as “a monumental victory”, adding: “The court’s decision to exclude key evidence and demand rectification of the indictment shows the lack of substantiated claims against them.”
Diicot launched a second investigation against the Tate brothers in August for alleged crimes including forming an organised criminal group, human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering.
The brothers were among six people taken into custody then, when authorities ordered them placed under house arrest. They have denied all of the charges in the second case, too, which is not affected by Tuesday’s appeals court ruling.
British authorities have requested the Tates’ extradition over allegations of sexual aggression in a case dating back to 2012. In a separate ruling in March, a court granted that request, but said legal proceedings in Romania must first be concluded.
In the second case, Diicot alleges that two defendants used the “loverboy” method – convincing people they are in a romantic relationship – to force 34 women into making pornography that was sold online for almost $3m (£2.1m).
Diicot says one of the defendants forced a 17-year-old to produce pornography in Britain and Romania, creating profits of $1.5m, and also alleges that the defendant repeatedly had sexual relations with a 15-year-old.
The Tates and their representatives have repeatedly claimed the Romanian prosecutors have no evidence against the brothers, that they are innocent of all charges, and that there is a political conspiracy to silence them.
Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report
