Andrew, Tristan Tate to remain in custody over sex-trafficking allegations

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Controversial influencer Andrew Tate and his brother will remain in custody for another month, a Romanian court ruled this week.

Tate, 36, and his brother Tristan were arrested alongside two Romanian women in Bucharest on Dec. 29 on sex-trafficking allegations.

Originally detained for 30 days, the BBC reported Friday that both brothers would remain in custody through Feb. 27.

Prosecutors claim that Tate, a former kickboxer and self-professed self-help guru with millions of social media followers, participated in an exploitation ring that forced women to create pornographic material.

Formal charges have not been filed, so neither Tate nor Tristan has entered pleas.

They unsuccessfully appealed their detention last week.

Andrew Tate, third from left, and his brother Tristan Tate appear outside a Romanian court on Jan. 10. — Andrew and Tristan Tate (center) outside a Romanian court on Jan. 10.

Both Andrew and Tristan unsuccessfully appealed their detainments last week. — Both Andrew and Tristan Tate unsuccessfully appealed their detentions last week.

Speaking to the Romanian outlet Gandul in the wake of the court’s latest decision, Tate’s defense lawyer Constantin Ioan Gliga blasted the ruling as “unjustified and totally exaggerated.”

“We continue to maintain that practically at this moment the Tate brothers are being arrested for a crime of opinion, for what they said, at some point, in the online environment and not for what they actually did in their private lives,” Gliga said.

Tate’s head of security, Bogdan Stancu, previously called the influencer’s accusers “stupid” for believing they would be “his next wife.”

Officers reportedly seized several weapons during the Dec. 29 raid, including guns, a hatchet and swords.

Tate was arrested hours after he posted a video featuring Romanian pizza boxes.

Andrew Tate counts his money — Tate has millions of followers despite being banned from multiple social platforms.

Andrew and Tristan Tate will remain in a Romanian jail for another 30 days.

A man secures a luxury vehicle which was seized in a case against media influencer Andrew Tate, is towed away, on the outskirts of Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023. Prosecutors seized several luxury vehicles after Tate lost a second appeal this week at a Bucharest court, where he challenged the seizure of assets in the late December raids, including properties, land, and a fleet of luxury cars. More than 10 properties and land owned by companies registered to the Tate brothers have also been seized so far. (AP Photo/Alexandru Dobre) — A man secures one of Andrew Tate’s luxury vehicles after his arrest.

Stacks of money and designer watches were also allegedly taken from the premises, the Daily Mail reported.

Last Saturday, investigators were seen towing Tate’s fleet of luxury cars.

Tate’s dramatic after-dark arrest notably occurred just hours after his Twitter spat with environmental activist Greta Thunberg.

After Thunberg invited Tate to email her at “smalld–[email protected],” the influencer retaliated with a ranting video featuring two pizza boxes bearing Romanian type, thus alerting authorities that he was in the country.

Thunberg has since received praise for inadvertently contributing to the arrest, with Tesla founder Elon Musk calling the 19-year-old Time honoree “cool.”

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