Misogynistic influencer Andrew Tate has been charged with having sexual relations with a minor, trafficking and money laundering, and allegedly recruiting a 15-year-old girl for sexual exploitation, Romanian prosecutors announced Friday. Tate, 39, received new charges as he and his brother Tristan Tate, 38, remain detained at the Federal Detention Center in Miami, Florida, while fighting extradition to the United Kingdom for alleged crimes that took place between 2010 and 2017. Tristan Tate has been charged with complicity as part of the investigation led by Romania’s Organized Crime and Terrorism Investigation Directorate. Andrew Tate allegedly recruited a 15-year-old girl and sexually exploited her in the United Kingdom and Romania between 2012 and December 2021, according to prosecutors. Andrew Tate is seen smoking a cigarette and counting his money at his home in Romania in an undated social media image. Andrew Tate allowed the girl to fall in love but used coercion, emotional blackmail and physical assault to ensure compliance, it is alleged. Tate allegedly forced the girl to produce sexually explicit material and engage in so-called video chat activities for his pleasure, prosecutors alleged. While the alleged sexual exploitation was occurring, Tristan Tate allegedly supported his brother instead of reporting the crime. Tristan Tate managed the girl’s video chat accounts and monitored her activity, prosecutors said. He also “resorted to acts of physical aggression [against the girl]” prosecutors said. The couple grossed more than $1.25 million from their alleged criminal activity. Andrew Tate also allegedly had sex with another 15-year-old boy at two Romanian properties between December 2020 and mid-2021. Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate are escorted by police officers outside the headquarters of the Directorate of Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) in Bucharest, Romania, on the 29th. December 2022. REUTERS The brothers used money from sexual exploitation to spend money on four cars between December 2023 and July 2024, whose total value amounted to 1.25 million dollars. Investigators want to confiscate the cars. accusations against them,” according to their lawyer Eugen. Constantin Vidineac “Today’s decision by the DIICOT does not determine guilt and should not be presented as if it were. It represents the prosecution’s latest attempt to bring this case to court following the failure of its previous prosecution to proceed to trial,” he said. “The history of these proceedings is important. The previous indictment was subjected to judicial scrutiny and the court identified significant irregularities that prevented the case from progressing to trial. “DIICOT has now decided to file a new allegation. We will examine every aspect of the allegation with the same level of scrutiny and will challenge any evidentiary, procedural or legal deficiencies through the appropriate judicial process.” Andrew and Tristan Tate sit as their attorney urges a judge to release the brothers on bail as they contest extradition to Britain in this courtroom sketch on August 27, 2026 in Miami, Florida. via REUTERS Prosecutors announced the charges just three days after Vidineac warned that a new indictment was expected, Forbes reported. He has called for the brothers to be released on bail amid fears that their imprisonment will result in them being found guilty in Romania. “I cannot guarantee the outcome of any proceeding or state that detention would inevitably cause the Tate brothers to lose in Romania,” he wrote in a court filing in Florida. “But in my direct experience representing them, if detention continues to deprive them of sustained, confidential, and able-to-present evidence access to me during these critical stages, their ability to prepare and participate meaningfully (and, consequently, the defense’s prospects for obtaining favorable rulings) would be reduced to almost zero.” The Tates echoed their attorney’s fears when they testified in a Miami courtroom last Thursday while shackled, a month after they were arrested by U.S. Marshals. Andrew Tate fears he will be given an unfair life sentence in Eastern Europe while imprisoned on American soil. And Tristan Tate claimed he can’t prove his innocence while incarcerated. “I need to clear my name,” he said. “I need to participate in this process, I can’t do it from the secure housing unit.” The Tate brothers face a combined 59 charges in the United Kingdom. Andrew Tate faces 42 charges for crimes involving seven victims. His charges include rape, controlling prostitution and organizing or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation. In July, Andrew Tate was hit with a further 19 charges for offenses relating to indecent images of children and extreme pornography. With postal cables
