Controversial influencer Andrew Tate on Monday won an appeal in Romanian court over the seizure of his assets as part of an ongoing human trafficking criminal case.
Tate and his brother, along with two Romanian women, were indicted in June for human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. They have denied the allegations.
Andrew Tate speaks to media after being released from house arrest and put under judicial control measures, on the outskirts of Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Aug. 4. (AP/Alexandru Dobre)
The indictment came after Romanian authorities seized goods and money worth roughly equivalent to $4 million as part of a criminal inquiry into Tate, including cash, designer watches, and luxury cars. A month later, prosecutors said they had also seized some properties and cryptocurrency.
The Bucharest court overturned Tate’s challenge against the asset seizure last month. The Bucharest Court of Appeals has now accepted his request and ordered that the seizure be reconsidered.
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For now, the Tate’s assets remain seized until that reassessment and ruling is made. It is not yet clear when their trial will begin.
While the investigation ended when the four were indicted, the case is now with the Bucharest court’s preliminary chamber, which needs to inspect the files to ensure their legality.
Social media influencer Andrew Tate poses for a headshot. (Andrew Tate – @cobratate/Twitter)
The Tate brothers were held in police custody between December 2022 and April 2023 pending a criminal investigation to prevent them from fleeing the country or tampering with evidence.
They were then placed under house arrest until August. Since then, they have been under judicial control, a lighter preventative measure meaning they have regular check-ins with the police but can move around freely except for leaving the country.
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Tate has resided in Romania since 2017. The former professional kickboxer, who has garnered millions of followers online by promoting an unapologetic hypermasculine lifestyle, has repeatedly claimed that Romanian prosecutors have no evidence and has alleged that the case is a political conspiracy designed to silence him.
Fox News’ Greg Norman and Reuters contributed to this report.
