Romanian prosecutors indict Andrew Tate for trafficking minors

Social media influencer Andrew Tate has been indicted by Romanian prosecutors for allegedly trafficking minors.

The former kickboxer was also indicted on charges of alleged money laundering, sex with a minor and witness tampering on Friday.

His brother Tristan was indicted for alleged complicity, years after the prosecutors began investigating them.

The duo, who have dual US and British citizenship, were arrested in Miami in late July after Britain requested their extradition.

They have been under criminal investigation in Romania, where they are based, on charges including human trafficking since December 2022.

They deny all wrongdoing.

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.

It is alleged by the Romanian anti-organised crime prosecuting unit DIICOT that one of Tate's alleged victims was 15 when he seduced her in Britain in 2012 before moving her to the Romanian capital of Bucharest and using physical violence and mental intimidation to sexually exploit her by forcing her to produce pornographic content for social media sites.

It is alleged Tristan was an accessory, using physical aggression to coerce the victim.

They kept $1.25m from the videochat income generated by the victim, roughly 80% of all her gains, it is alleged.

A Romanian lawyer for the Tates, Eugen Vidineac, said in a statement: "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.

"Our clients continue to reject the allegations against them."

The brothers remain in jail in the US, where a judge decides on the request for extradition to Britain, where they are wanted on rape charges.

A spokesperson for DIICOT, which is investigating the Tates, said it was not immediately clear whether the unit will seek their extradition from the US.

Mr Vidineac added: "Today's decision by DIICOT does not determine guilt and it should not be presented as though it does. It represents the prosecution's latest attempt to bring this case before a court following the failure of its previous indictment to proceed to trial.

"The history of these proceedings matters. The previous indictment was subjected to judicial scrutiny and the court identified significant irregularities which prevented the case from moving forward to trial.

"DIICOT has now chosen to file a new indictment. We will examine every aspect of it with the same level of scrutiny and we will challenge any evidential, procedural or legal deficiencies through the appropriate judicial process.

"Our clients continue to reject the allegations against them. They have the right to the presumption of innocence, the right to properly examine the evidence relied upon against them and the right to mount an effective defence."

They 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.

The law states that the preliminary chamber judge has 60 days to finalise the report, but indictments routinely take significantly longer.

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Tate is a self-described misogynist and previously said he moved to Romania because law enforcement was more lax there.

Together, the brothers have grown a large social media following, comprising mainly young men, by flaunting a flamboyant, hyper-macho lifestyle.

(c) Sky News 2026: Romanian prosecutors indict Andrew Tate for trafficking minors