Bucharest, Romania:
A Romanian court on Tuesday extended the detention of Andrew Tate, the controversial influencer who is under investigation with his brother for alleged human trafficking and rape.
Tate, 36, and his brother Tristan, 34, were arrested in late December. Their current detention order expired next week.
But the court ordered them to be held for another 30 days, Ramona Bolla, a spokeswoman for Romania’s Directorate Against Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), told AFP.
The Tate brothers, who have denied all allegations, are expected to appeal the ruling.
Tate, a British-American former kickboxer, is under investigation along with his younger brother and two Romanian women for allegedly “forming an organized crime group, trafficking and rape”.
They allegedly forced women into “forced labor … and pornographic acts” for “substantial financial gains”.
As part of the investigation, Romanian police raided several properties associated with the Tate brothers and seized many of their assets, including a collection of luxury cars.
In 2016, Tate appeared on the reality TV show “Big Brother” in Britain, but was removed after a video emerged showing him assaulting a woman.
He then turned to social media platforms to promote his divisive views before being banned for misogynistic comments and hate speech.
Tate was allowed back on Twitter after South African billionaire Elon Musk bought the company, and his name “Cobratate” currently has more than five million followers.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
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