Ex-kickboxer Andrew Tate says Romanian prosecutors don’t have any proof towards him

BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Divisive web persona Andrew Tate mentioned on Wednesday there was no justice in Romania and that the case file towards him in a prison investigation for alleged human trafficking and rape was empty.

Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian feminine suspects have been in police custody since Dec. 29 pending an ongoing prison investigation on fees of forming a prison gang to sexually exploit girls, accusations they deny.

On Thursday, a Romanian courtroom prolonged their detention till Feb. 27. Prosecutors have mentioned the Tate brothers recruited their victims by seducing them and falsely claiming to desire a relationship or marriage.

The victims had been then taken to properties on the outskirts of the capital Bucharest and thru bodily violence and psychological intimidation had been sexually exploited by being pressured to supply pornographic content material for social media websites that generated massive monetary achieve, prosecutors mentioned.

Additionally they mentioned Andrew Tate, a former skilled kickboxer who holds U.S. and British nationality, raped one of many victims in March final yr, which he had denied.

“They know we’ve got finished nothing unsuitable,” Tate advised reporters as he was introduced in for additional questioning by anti-organised crime prosecutors, the primary feedback made to the media since his arrest. “This file is totally empty. In fact it is unjust, there is no such thing as a justice in Romania sadly.”

Requested whether or not he has harm girls, Tate mentioned: “In fact not.”

Earlier this month, Romanian authorities mentioned that they had seized items and cash price 18 million lei ($3.99 million), together with luxurious vehicles and properties as part of the investigation.

“There isn’t a proof towards me,” Tristan Tate advised reporters on Wednesday. “The authorities are planning to steal my vehicles and steal my cash. That’s the reason I’m in jail.”

Prosecutors have mentioned the seizure was meant to stop the property being offered or hid.

Andrew Tate gained mainstream notoriety for misogynistic remarks that received him banned from all main social media platforms, though his Twitter account was reinstated in November after Elon Musk acquired the social media large.

He has mentioned he moved to Romania as a result of he favored dwelling in international locations the place corruption was accessible to all people.

(Reporting by Luiza Ilie and Octav Ganea; enhancing by Nick Macfie)