UPDATE 3-Influencer Andrew Tate indicted in Romania for trafficking women

(Adds hearing date, maximum sentence, background on fan base, beginnings)

By Luiza Ilie

BUCHAREST, June 20 (Reuters) – Romanian prosecutors on Tuesday charged U.S.-British social media influencer Andrew Tate, who has gained millions of fans by promoting an ultra-masculine lifestyle, with human trafficking, rape and forming a gang to sexually exploit women.

Tate was indicted with his brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects. They are under house arrest pending an investigation into abuses against seven women whom prosecutors say were lured through false claims of relationships.

The suspects have denied the accusations.

The Tate brothers, both former kickboxers, are the highest profile suspects facing trial for human trafficking in Romania.

Andrew Tate, a self-described misogynist, has grown his following of mainly young men by building a lavish, hyper-macho image of driving fast cars and dating beautiful women.

The four suspects were held in police custody from Dec. 29 until March 31 before a Bucharest court put them under house arrest, which prosecutors on Tuesday sought to extend.

A judge will decide on Wednesday whether to prolong the detention for 30 days or replace it with a lighter measure.

Andrew Tate, 36, has also been charged with raping one of the victims, while Tristan, 34, has been charged with instigating others to violence, according to prosecutors.

“We embrace the opportunity (a trial) presents to demonstrate their innocence and vindicate their reputation,” a spokesperson for the Tates’ legal team said.

The trial will not start immediately.

Under Romanian law, the case gets sent to the Bucharest court’s preliminary chamber, where a judge has 60 days to inspect the case files to ensure legality.

Trafficking of adults carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years, as does rape.

Prosecutors also said they were investigating the four suspects in a separate ongoing case on allegations of money laundering, witness tampering, and child and adult trafficking.

‘STEALING MY WEALTH’

The indictment also sought the confiscation of property, luxury watches, cash and cryptocurrency seized by prosecutors during the investigation.

“I’m sure this case has absolutely nothing to do with stealing my wealth,” Andrew Tate tweeted sarcastically.

In 2022, he was the world’s eighth-most Googled person, trailing only figures such as Johnny Depp, Will Smith and Vladimir Putin.

In the past Tate has compared women to dogs and said they bear some responsibility for their rape. He has said he moved to Romania after being investigated in the United Kingdom on charges of sexual assault, which were ultimately dropped.

On the Fresh&Fit podcast last year, he said he started making money by convincing multiple girlfriends to videochat and share the profits back when he lived in London.

Romanian prosecutors have said the Tate brothers recruited their victims by seducing them and falsely claiming to want a relationship or marriage.

The victims were then taken to properties outside the capital Bucharest, and through physical violence and mental intimidation were sexually exploited by being forced to produce pornographic content for social media sites that generated large financial gain, prosecutors said.

The case will be a test for Romania’s anti-organized crime prosecuting unit DIICOT, which last year investigated 458 new trafficking cases and convicted 138 sex and labour traffickers, according to an annual trafficking report from the U.S. State Department.

The report noted a slowdown in the pace of prosecution and persistent, low-level official complicity in trafficking crimes. (Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Jason Hovet, Alexandra Hudson, Angus MacSwan and Andrew Cawthorne)