Romanian prosecutors indict Andrew Tate for trafficking minors, money laundering

Romanian prosecutors said the Tates recruited their victims by seducing them and falsely claiming ⁠to want a relationship or marriage, before forcing them to produce pornographic content for a webcam business. They have denied all wrongdoing.

"We ​will examine every aspect of (the indictment) with the same level of scrutiny and we will challenge any evidential, procedural or legal ​deficiencies through the appropriate judicial process," a Romanian lawyer for the Tates, Eugen Vidineac, said in a statement. "Our clients continue to reject the allegations against them.

"Prosecutors describe case involving 15-year-old. The Tate brothers remain in jail in the US while a judge decides on the request for their extradition ​to Britain, where they are wanted on rape charges.

The spokesperson for the Romanian anti-organized crime prosecuting unit DIICOT — which is ​investigating the Tates — said it was not immediately clear whether the unit will seek their extradition from the United States. The Tates can be ‌tried ⁠in absentia in Romania, but the trial will not start immediately.

Under Romanian law, the indictment gets sent to a preliminary court chamber, where a judge will inspect the case files to ensure legality. Read:Andrew Tate, brother arrested in USWhile the law states that the preliminary chamber judge has 60 days to finalize the report, indictments routinely take significantly longer.

DIICOT said one of Andrew Tate's victims was 15 when ​he seduced her in Britain ​in 2012, before moving her ⁠to the Romanian capital Bucharest and using physical violence and mental intimidation to sexually exploit her by forcing her to produce pornographic content for social media sites.

His brother Tristan was an ​accessory, the unit said, using physical aggression to coerce the victim. Prosecutors said the brothers kept $1.25 ​million from the ⁠videochat income generated by the victim, roughly 80% of all her gains.

The brothers tried to launder the funds by buying four luxury cars, they added. The brothers were previously indicted in Romania on charges of human trafficking, but in late 2024 the Bucharest ⁠court of ​appeals sent the case back to prosecutors after deeming some evidence inadmissible.

Andrew ​Tate, a self-described misogynist, previously said he moved to Romania because law enforcement there was more lax. Both brothers have grown their following of mainly young men ​by building a lavish, hyper-macho image of driving fast cars and dating beautiful women.