Ex-kickboxer Andrew Tate says Romanian prosecutors have no evidence
against him
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[January 25, 2023]
BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Divisive internet personality Andrew
Tate said on Wednesday there was no justice in Romania and that the case
file against him in a criminal investigation for alleged human
trafficking and rape was empty.
Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects have been in
police custody since Dec. 29 pending an ongoing criminal investigation
on charges of forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women,
accusations they deny.
On Thursday, a Romanian court extended their detention until Feb. 27.
Prosecutors have said the Tate brothers recruited their victims by
seducing them and falsely claiming to want a relationship or marriage.
The victims were then taken to properties on the outskirts of the
capital Bucharest and through physical violence and mental intimidation
were sexually exploited by being forced to produce pornographic content
for social media sites that generated large financial gain, prosecutors
said.
They also said Andrew Tate, a former professional kickboxer who holds
U.S. and British nationality, raped one of the victims in March last
year, which he had denied.
"They know we have done nothing wrong," Tate told reporters as he was
brought in for further questioning by anti-organised crime prosecutors,
the first comments made to the media since his arrest. "This file is
completely empty. Of course it's unjust, there is no justice in Romania
unfortunately."
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Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are
escorted by police officers outside the headquarters of the
Bucharest Court of Appeal, in Bucharest, Romania, January 10, 2023.
Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via REUTERS
Asked whether he has hurt women, Tate said: "Of course not."
Earlier this month, Romanian authorities said they had seized goods
and money worth 18 million lei ($3.99 million), including luxury
cars and properties as a part of the investigation.
"There is no evidence against me," Tristan Tate told reporters on
Wednesday. "The authorities are planning to steal my cars and steal
my money. That is why I am in jail."
Prosecutors have said the seizure was meant to prevent the assets
being sold or concealed.
Andrew Tate gained mainstream notoriety for misogynistic remarks
that got him banned from all major social media platforms, although
his Twitter account was reinstated in November after Elon Musk
acquired the social media giant.
He has said he moved to Romania because he liked living in countries
where corruption was accessible to everybody.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie and Octav Ganea; editing by Nick Macfie)
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