Romanian authorities have seized luxury cars from the compound of influencer Andrew Tate, who remains in custody on rape and trafficking charges.
Anti-organised crime prosecutors detained Mr Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects on 29 December on charges of forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit six women. They have denied any wrongdoing.
On Saturday, several cars, including a Rolls-Royce, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, were being taken from the city on the outskirts of the capital, Bucharest, to be transported to a storage location.
A navy blue Ferrari belonging to Andrew Tate is taken away by Romanian authorities
(AFP via Getty Images)
Earlier this week, prosecutors said they had seized 15 luxury vehicles and more than 10 properties and homes belonging to the suspects in Bucharest, and the counties of Prahova and Brasov, to prevent the assets being sold or hidden.
Tate and his co-defendants arrived at the Bucharest court in handcuffs on Tuesday morning to challenge the 30-day arrest warrant that keeps them detained.
But the Bucharest court of appeals rejected the challenge and said they should remain in police custody.
Eugen Vidineac, a Romanian defence lawyer representing the defendants, said after the hearing that “all four of the accused have made statements” and that “the lawyers’ pleas were listened to entirely”.
Romanian officials transport the cars seized from the Tate compound to an undisclosed storage location
(Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via RE)
Romanian officials watch as the cars are taken away from Andrew Tate’s compound
(via REUTERS)
After Tate lost his appeal, a cryptic post on his Twitter account read: “When Allah said ‘I test only those I love.’ I took the pain like it was an honour — Abu Hurayrah.”
It was one of several ambiguous posts that have appeared on the account since his arrest.
The country’s Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIIOCT) said after making the arrests that it had identified six victims who allege they had been subjected by the group to “acts of physical violence and mental coercion” and were sexually exploited by group members.
One of Andrew Tate’s many luxury cars is loaded onto a flatbed and taken away
(AFP via Getty Images)
A grey Porsche Carrera owned by Andrew Tate is taken away
(EPA)
The agency said victims were lured by pretences of love, and later intimidated, surveilled, and subjected by means of control into performing pornographic acts intended to make substantial amounts of money for their exploiters.
If prosecutors can prove the Tates gained money through human trafficking, the seized assets “will be taken by the state and [will] cover the expenses of the investigation and damages to the victims”.
Tate, a former kickboxer and contestant on the reality show Big Brother, gained notoriety for misogynistic remarks and hate speech.
Andrew Tate, centre, and his brother Tristan, have both been detained in Romania
(AP)
His remarks got him banned from all major social media platforms, although his Twitter account became active again in November after Elon Musk acquired the platform.
Tate, who holds US and British nationality, has previously said women are partially responsible for being raped and that they belong to men.
He has gone on to attract millions of followers on social media, and his Twitter account has continued to post messages despite his detention.
Additional reporting by agencies
Kaynak: briturkish.com
