Romanian police carried out new raids at Andrew Tate’s home, who is awaiting trial on charges of human trafficking, rape, and forming a criminal gang to exploit women.Romania’s anti-organized crime agency searched four homes in Bucharest and Ilfov county, investigating allegations including trafficking minors.Tate’s spokesperson confirmed that suspicions of human trafficking and money laundering are included in the search warrant.Masked police officers in Romania carried out fresh raids early Wednesday at the home of divisive internet influencer Andrew Tate, who is awaiting trial on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, said it was searching four homes in Bucharest and nearby Ilfov county, investigating allegations of human trafficking, the trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor, influencing statements and money laundering. The agency added that hearings will later be held at its headquarters.Tate’s spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, said in response to the raids that “although the charges in the search warrant are not yet fully clarified, they include suspicions of human trafficking and money laundering” and added that his legal team is present. Petrescu did not address the allegations involving minors.ROMANIAN COURT RULES THAT ANDREW TATE’S TRIAL ON CHARGES OF RAPE AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING CAN STARTDozens of police officers and forensic personnel were scouring Tate’s large property on the edge of the capital Bucharest. “During the entire criminal process, the investigated persons benefit from the procedural rights and guarantees provided by the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as the presumption of innocence,” DIICOT noted in its statement. An armed police officer wearing a balaclava stands outside the residence of Andrew Tate during a police search raid on the outskirts of Bucharest, Romania, on Aug. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)The 37-year-old Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan, 36, both former kickboxers and dual British-U.S. citizens who have amassed millions of social media followers, were arrested in 2022 near Bucharest along with two Romanian women. Romanian prosecutors formally indicted all four last year. They have denied the allegations.In April, the Bucharest Tribunal ruled that the prosecutors’ case file against the four met the legal criteria and that a trial could start but did not set a date for it to begin. That ruling came after the legal case had been discussed for months in the preliminary chamber stages, a process in which the defendants can challenge prosecutors’ evidence and case file. Armed police officers wearing balaclavas walk outside the residence of Andrew Tate during a police search raid on the outskirts of Bucharest, Romania, on Aug. 21, 2024. Tate is awaiting trial on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)After the Tate brothers’ arrest in 2022, they were held for three months in police detention before being moved to house arrest. They were later restricted to the Bucharest and Ilfov counties, and later to all of Romania.Last month, a court overturned an earlier decision that allowed the Tate brothers to leave Romania as they await trial. The earlier court ruled on July 5 that they could leave the country as long as they remained within the 27-member European Union. The decision was final. Andrew Tate, left, and his brother Tristan, right, wait inside the Court of Appeals building in Bucharest, Romania, on Jan. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)Andrew Tate, who is known for expressing misogynistic views online and has amassed 9.9 million followers on the social media platform X, has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy to silence him. He was previously banned from various social media platforms for misogynistic views and hate speech.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPIn March, the Tate brothers also appeared at the Bucharest Court of Appeal in a separate case, after British authorities issued arrest warrants over allegations of sexual aggression in a U.K. case dating back to 2012-2015. The appeals court granted the British request to extradite the the Tates to the U.K., but only after legal proceedings in Romania have concluded.
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