Andrew Tate to face trial on charges of human trafficking, rape, and forming criminal gang

Brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate will face trial on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, Romanian prosecutors have confirmed.

Initially arrested as part of an organized crime investigation on December 29, 2022, the Tate brothers spent a number of months in jail before being released at the end of March.

Although they were released, all four are being held under house arrest in Romania.

Andrew, Tristan, and two female suspects are all still under house arrest, and are being sent to trial on charges of human trafficking, rape, and forming a criminal gang, Reuters report.

The brothers have denied all the charges. In a livestream, Tristan claimed that the allegation they had formed a criminal gang was based on taking money from women’s TikTok accounts.

He claimed that the allegations are simply: “In 2021, two years ago, my brother and I formed an organized criminal gang with the intent of moving women to Romania so we could steal money from their TikTok accounts to enrich ourselves.”

However, prosecutors say that the Tate brothers recruited victims by falsely promising marriage or relationships, before exploiting them for financial gain.

The indictment filed in Bucharest court names seven alleged victims recruited by the Tate brothers through this method.

A start date for the trial has not been confirmed yet. Before this, a judge must inspect the case files, and has 60 days to do so. The BBC reports that the trial is expected to take several years.

During that time, it’s unclear whether the brothers, and the two women also accused, will remain under house arrest.