Overview
- Early July, Romania’s DIICOT added formal allegations that Andrew and Tristan Tate profited about £1.1m from prostituting a then-17-year-old and widened charges to include human trafficking, rape, money laundering, witness intimidation and complicity in trafficking of minors.
- Prosecutors allege Tristan ran the victim’s webcam account, set financial targets for her and recruited three other women using a ‘lover boy’ grooming method that used gifts and emotional pressure to coerce sex work.
- The brothers already face 21 criminal charges in the UK, including rape and human trafficking, but Romanian authorities say extradition to Britain will be deferred until Romania’s proceedings are resolved.
- Romanian police have seized five luxury vehicles and allege Andrew sold five cars in the UK despite existing seizure orders as part of efforts to trace and preserve alleged proceeds.
- A spokesman for the Tates says they categorically deny the allegations and will contest them in court; separately, the UK High Court recently refused the brothers’ bid to force the CPS to disclose alleged victims’ names to protect complainants from doxxing.