BUCHAREST, Jan 25 (Portal) – Controversial internet personality Andrew Tate said on Wednesday there was no justice in Romania and that the file against him in a criminal investigation into alleged human trafficking and rape was empty.
Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian suspects have been in police custody since December 29 awaiting ongoing criminal investigations into allegations of forming a criminal gang for the sexual exploitation of women, allegations they deny.
On Thursday, a Romanian court extended her detention until February 27. Prosecutors said the Tate brothers recruited their victims by seducing them and falsely claiming they wanted a relationship or marriage.
The victims were then taken to properties on the outskirts of the capital, Bucharest, and sexually exploited through physical violence and mental intimidation, forcing them to produce pornographic content for social media sites that generated large financial gains, prosecutors said.
They also said that Andrew Tate, a former professional kickboxer who holds US and British nationalities, raped one of the victims in March last year, which he denies.
“You know we did nothing wrong,” Tate told reporters when brought in for further questioning by organized crime prosecutors, the first comments to the media since his arrest. “This file is completely empty. Of course it is unfair, unfortunately there is no justice in Romania.”
When asked if he’d hurt women, Tate said, “Of course not.”
Earlier this month, Romanian authorities said they had seized 18 million lei ($3.99 million) worth of goods and money, including luxury cars and real estate, as part of the investigation.
“There is no evidence against me,” Tristan Tate told reporters on Wednesday. “The authorities plan to steal my cars and my money. That’s why I’m in prison.”
Prosecutors said the seizure was intended to prevent the assets from being concealed.
The Tates “are confident in their defence, they trust the evidence in their favor, they have made a detailed statement, they have cooperated (with the authorities),” their attorney Eugen Vidineac told reporters after questioning.
“We think the defense is taking shape.”
Andrew Tate rose to mainstream fame for misogynist remarks that resulted in his being banned from all major social media platforms, although his Twitter account was restored in November after Elon Musk took over the social media network.
Reporting by Luiza Ilie and Octav Ganea; Edited by Nick Macfie and Daniel Wallis
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