A court in Romania has ruled that the indictment against influencer Andrew Tate contains multiple irregularities, giving prosecutors less than a week to amend or withdraw the case of alleged human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
The Bucharest Court of Appeal said that Romania’s anti-organised crime agency, DIICOT, must act within five days and ordered the removal of some evidence.
Its decision comes nearly two years after Mr Tate, 37, and his 36-year-old brother Tristan Tate, were arrested along with two Romanian women near the capital.
Romanian prosecutors formally charged all four last year.
In April, the Bucharest Tribunal ruled that a trial could start but did not set a date.
All four deny the allegations.
“This is a monumental victory for our clients, who have maintained their innocence from the beginning,” said Eugen Vidineac, one of the brothers’ lawyers.
“The court’s decision to exclude key evidence and demand rectification of the indictment demonstrates the lack of substantiated claims against them.”
There was no immediate statement by prosecutors.
The appeals court ruled it identified multiple flaws in the file against the brothers, saying prosecutors had failed to adequately explain the charges against Andrew Tate to one alleged female victim, and that the charges against the female suspects were not properly presented.
It said the indictment failed to specify the amounts related to the confiscation of assets in the case.
The court ordered that some evidence be removed, including witness statements by two alleged victims and those made by the Tates, which were deemed inadmissible.
The court did not say why.
After the ruling, Andrew Tate, a former kickboxer and dual British-US citizen who has amassed over 10 million followers on social media, said: “The prosecution knew they were lies. We knew they were lies.”
In August, DIICOT launched a second case against the brothers over allegations of human trafficking, the trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor, influencing statements and money laundering.
They have denied those charges. Today’s ruling does not affect that case.
In March, the Tates appeared at the Bucharest Court of Appeal in a separate action after British authorities issued arrest warrants over allegations of sexual aggression in a UK case dating back to 2012-2015.
The court granted the British request to extradite the two men, but only after legal proceedings in Romania have concluded.
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