A general view taken on December 30, 2022 shows the main building of the Bucharest Court in Bucharest, Romania, where former professional kickboxer and controversial online personality Andrew Tate was expected to appear for alleged human trafficking, rape and setting up an organised criminal group. - British citizen Tate and his brother Tristan were expected to appear in court in Bucharest on December 30, with a proposal to keep them in pre-trial detention for 30 days. The brothers, and two Romanians also detained, allegedly trafficked, recruited and exploited women by coercing them into 'pornographic acts with a view to producing and disseminating such material' online. On December 28, Tate got into an argument with Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg on Twitter after he tweeted that he owned cars which were producing "enormous emissions". (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
Andrew Tate and his brother have been arrested in Romania on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organized crime group following a raid on their Bucharest properties, per reports.
Romanian prosecutors asked the court on Friday to extend the detention of the controversial Internet personality by 30 days, according to Reuters.
On Thursday, Tate and his brother Tristan were detained for an initial 24 hours alongside two Romanian suspects after they said they had found six women who had been sexually exploited by the suspects.
“Anti-organized crime prosecutors have notified the rights and liberties judge with the Bucharest Court with a proposal to remand the four suspects for 30 days,” prosecutors from the anti- organized crime unit said in a statement Friday.
The Tate brothers had been under criminal investigation since April, according to prosecutors, who learned of their presence in Romania after a video they posted to social media showed pizza boxes from a chain exclusively located in the Eastern European country.
Authorities are claiming Tate and his brother “created an organized crime group” to recruit and exploit women to “create pornographic content.”
“The four suspects … appear to have created an organized crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialised websites for a cost,” prosecutors said in a statement late Thursday.
Officials added “they would have gained important sums of money” had the reported criminal enterprise continued.
Tate, a former kickboxing champion, holds duel U.S. and British nationality. On Friday, Britain’s Foreign Office said it had not been approached for assistance over the case.
The brothers declined to comment on Thursday, however their attorney confirmed to the outlet that they had been detained.
The cigar-smoking “Top G” as his followers call him has gained widespread notoriety lately for making misogynistic comments and hate speech, having even gone on record saying women are partially responsible for being raped and that they belong to men.
Tate has been banned from numerous social media platforms for such commentary, however his Twitter account was active again in November after it was bought out by Elon Musk, who he called a “legend” upon his return to the platform.
On Friday, a tweet sent from Tate’s account suggested he had access to his phone and internet while being held in Romanian custody.
However, authorities there claimed “anybody who has access to his account can post,” according to a representative of Romania’s anti-organized crime unit, who intimated that others may be tweeting on his behalf while detained.
Shortly before his arrest, Tate was told to “get a life” by climate activist Greta Thunberg on Twitter after he told her he owned 33 cars with “enormous emissions.”
His ensuing response video was the one that featured pizza boxes from Jerry’s Pizza, a chain exclusive to Romania, thus tipping off authorities to his presence there.
