BUCHAREST, Jan 25 (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 into human trafficking and rape allegations was empty.
Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian women are police suspects custody An ongoing criminal investigation is pending against them for allegedly forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women since December 29, charges they deny.
Thursday in a court in Romania extended They were detained till February 27. Prosecutors said the Tate brothers recruited their victims by luring them and falsely claiming to be in 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 psychological intimidation, forcing them to create pornographic content for social media sites that generated large financial profits, prosecutors said.
They also said Andrew Tate, a former professional kickboxer who holds US and British citizenship, raped one of the victims in March last year, which he denies.
“They know we didn’t do anything wrong,” Tate told reporters as he was brought in for further questioning by anti-organized crime lawyers, his 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.”
Asked if he had hit women, Tate said: “Absolutely not.”
Earlier this month, Romanian authorities said they possessed Goods and money worth 18 million lei ($3.99 million), including luxury cars and property, are part of the investigation.
“There is no evidence against me,” Tristan Tate told reporters on Wednesday. “The authorities are planning to steal my car and steal my money. That’s why I’m in jail.”
Prosecutors said the confiscation was to prevent the concealment of assets.
The Tates “are confident in the defense, they are confident in the evidence for them, they have given a detailed statement, they have cooperated (with authorities),” their lawyer, Eugen Vidinac, told reporters after the arraignment.
“We believe the defense is starting to take shape.”
Andrew Tate gained mainstream notoriety for infamous comments 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 network.
Reporting by Luiza Ilie and Octav Ganea; Editing by Nick McPhee and Daniel Wallis
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