Who is Andrew Tate? Influencer placed under house arrest over human trafficking and sexual exploitation allegations

Internet influencer Andrew Tate was placed under house arrest for 30 days by a judge in a Romanian court while prosecutors investigated a new case involving human trafficking allegations. Tate, who has been embroiled in similar controversies in the past, was one of six people taken into custody in the investigation into human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

In 2023, Andrew Tate, his brother Tristan and two associates were charged with rape, human trafficking and forming an organised crime group that sexually exploited women.

The latest decision by the Bucharest court came a day after prosecutors arrested six people, including Tate, 37, and his brother Tristan Tate, 36, as reported by the AP news agency. Tate’s arrest came after Romania’s anti-organized crime prosecution unit, Diicot, raided his four homes in Bucharest and nearby Ilfov County.

Prosecutors had asked the court to hold the brothers in custody for 30 days. The internet influencer’s brother, Tristan, is under judicial supervision, which typically involves geographic restrictions and regular reporting to police, according to AP.

Who is Andrew Tate?

Andrew Tate is a former professional kickboxer who rose to popularity and millions of followers on social media by promoting an ultra-masculine lifestyle, according to a Reuters report. He and his brother Tristan were previously charged in mid-2023, along with two Romanian women, with human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.

The allegations were later denied by the brothers. Before their latest arrest, the two were under a travel ban. As part of the ban, the two brothers were allowed to travel freely within Romania but were not allowed to leave the country, the Reuters report said.

Regarding the latest case, Diicot said it had ordered the arrest of six people for crimes including forming an organized criminal group, human trafficking, trafficking in minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering. It further said it had requested that three of the suspects remain in custody while another be placed under house arrest.

According to Diicot, two of the suspects used the “lover boy” method. The method the two brothers used involved convincing people that they were in a romantic relationship in order to coerce 34 victims into creating pornography, which was then sold online for a profit of more than $2.8 million and 887,000 crypto tokens.

Diicot had asked the Bucharest court to arrest the Tate brothers for 30 days, but the judge decided to place Andrew Tate under house arrest for that period and Tristan under judicial supervision, their representative Mateea Petrescu said on Thursday.

“The Tates welcome the decision and firmly deny all the accusations made against them, stressing that the allegations are baseless and not supported by substantial evidence,” Petrescu wrote in a statement, as quoted by Reuters.