A Romanian court has ordered the controversial British influencer detained for 30 days in connection with a human trafficking investigation.
Par LePoint.fr (with AFP)
Published on
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L’Controversial British influencer Andrew Tate, who stood out for a very lively and extensively commented exchange with environmentalist Greta Thunberg on Twitter, was kept in detention in Romania on Friday December 30 in a pimping case. Andrew Tate, his brother and two Romanian citizens, who had been taken into custody on Thursday evening, are suspected of human trafficking, rape and formation of a criminal group.
After a hearing lasting several hours, the Bucharest court ordered their detention for 30 days, Ramona Bolla, a spokeswoman for the anti-Mafia prosecutor’s office DIICOT, told Agence France Presse. Andrew Tate had a heated exchange this week, which went viral, with Greta Thunberg on social networks, in which he congratulated himself on emitting a lot of greenhouse gases with his collection of big cars.
Upon news of her arrest, the Swedish activist tweeted ironically on Friday morning: “This is what happens when you don’t recycle your pizza wrappers. The post helped fuel speculation that Tate had been “located” by Romanian authorities through the pizza wrapper visible in a video response he sent to her on Wednesday.
Romanian prosecutors, however, denied this. “It’s not related,” reacted the spokesperson for the DIICOT anti-Mafia prosecution, Ramona Bolla. “To determine whether a person is in the country or not, we use a whole range of means,” she added, adding that “arrest warrants and searches” were already ready. The prosecution has been investigating since early 2021 and had already searched Andrew Tate’s villa last April.
A first search in April
The prosecution has been investigating since the beginning of 2021 and had already searched a villa of Andrew Tate last April. Six potential victims have been identified at this stage. Duped by the two men who feigned feelings for them and then sequestered them, they were allegedly forced by violence into prostitution and the production of pornographic films. The prosecutor’s office released images of the searches, on which we can see firearms, wads of cash and sports cars seized in different places in Romania.
According to the Romanian press, two women, including an American citizen, had been freed in the spring by the police from the property of the Tate brothers. Both men moved to Romania a few years ago. Andrew Tate, who also has American nationality, appeared on the television show Big Brother in 2016. He was eliminated from the competition after a video showed him hitting a woman. He then turned to social networks where he promoted masculinist theses.
His accounts had all been suspended for misogynistic comments. In particular, he considered that women victims of sexual abuse should be held responsible. In the wake of the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk, his account domiciled in Dubai had however been reactivated on the social network. He is followed by 3.6 million people. On his website, he presents himself with a shaved head and a well-trimmed beard, wearing aviator glasses. Smoking big cigars and bulging muscles, he claims to be a multimillionaire and coins his advice to men to help them become rich.