Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan detained in Romania after arrest warrant issued by UK
Controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have been arrested in Romania over allegations of sexual aggression.
The brothers were detained on Monday night on charges that date back to between 2012 and 2015.
They were handed a European arrest warrant issued by Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London – and an investigation is pending.
Police officers escort Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan to the Court of Appeal in Bucharest, Romania. Pic: AP
Andrew, 37, and Tristan, 35, deny all allegations against them. Their representatives said they were “fully committed to challenging these accusations with unwavering determination and resolve”.
They both appeared in court flanked by four police officers – two wearing riot gear.
The pair didn’t talk to each other, but had conversations with their respective lawyers.
They are due to appear in the Bucharest Court of Appeal on Tuesday for a decision on whether the warrant should be executed.
A lawyer representing four women who accused Tate of rape and sexual assault said they alerted British police to immediately seek his detention after receiving information last week that he was planning to flee Romania, a statement said.
Matthew Jury, managing partner at McCue Jury and Partners said he welcomed Tate’s arrest “as it has been a significant concern to many that Tate would seek to avoid justice in Romania and abroad”.
He added: “We are grateful to the British authorities for taking our concerns seriously and issuing an arrest warrant.”
The lawyer also urged Piers Morgan, Tucker Carson and others to stop giving Tate a platform “or at least encourage them to properly interrogate him on the allegations”.
“Allowing Tate to spread disinformation about the allegations of criminality he faces, not just in the UK, only helps to support and spread his toxic influence further amongst vulnerable young men and boys, something we should all be seeking to put an end to,” he said.
Read more: Who is Andrew Tate?
The law firm said the four British accusers were the subject of an investigation by Hertfordshire Constabulary.
The Hertfordshire investigation was closed in 2019.
The brothers are facing rape and human trafficking charges in Romania, where they live, and had previously been in jail and later under house arrest since they were detained in December 2022.
They were charged alongside two Romanian women who are accused of being part of the alleged organised crime group.
It is alleged all four formed the group in 2021 to commit human trafficking in Romania and other countries – including the US and UK.
Tate won an appeal in August 2023 to be released from house arrest as he awaits trial on a date which has yet to be decided.
The brothers were told they were able to travel anywhere within Romania but could not leave the country.
In January, a Romanian court also overturned a decision to seize Tate’s assets, which saw him regain access to his supercars, properties and designer watches.
Prosecutors said in January last year that they had seized 15 luxury vehicles and more than 10 properties and homes belonging to the suspects to prevent the assets from being sold or hidden.
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From January 2023: Andrew Tate’s cars confiscated from villa
Fourteen designer watches, two ingots – blocks of usually precious metal – and cash, were also confiscated, with authorities saying at the time the seized property was worth €3.6m (£3.12m).
Tate, a former kickboxer and Big Brother contestant, gained millions of fans on social media in recent years after styling himself as the “king of toxic masculinity”.
He has 8.9 million followers on X, formerly Twitter, but has been banned on several other platforms including TikTok for his misogynistic views.
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former “thug” and “pit bull”, has been accused of lying about a phone call he says he made to the former US president about payments to ex porn star Stormy Daniels.
Cohen, a lawyer who worked for the Trump Organisation from 2006 to 2017, has been giving evidence in the case about hush money payments to Ms Daniels – in an attempt to cover up an alleged sexual encounter in 2006.
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, called into question an important detail – a phone call made by Cohen to Trump’s assistant, Keith Schiller, on 24 October 2016.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Cohen, 57, has maintained that during that call he spoke to Trump (who was either given the phone by Mr Schiller or placed on loudspeaker – we don’t know which) and told him he had paid Ms Daniels $130,000 in hush money on his behalf.
But Mr Blanche called this into doubt – showing the jury a number of interactions suggesting Cohen was in contact with Mr Schiller about a different issue at the same time, namely that he was receiving harassing phone calls and texts from a 14-year-old child.
“That was a lie – you did not talk to President Trump on that night, you talked to Keith Schiller about what we just went through,” Mr Blanche said.
Cohen said that, based on his records, he believes he spoke to Trump about the Stormy Daniels matter.
“We are not asking for your belief,” Mr Blanche said. “This jury does not want to hear what you think happened.”
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Donald Trump in court on Thursday. Pic: Reuters
That exchange was part of several hours of questioning which apparently sought to paint a picture of Cohen as someone who is eager to see his former boss behind bars.
Mr Blanche played jurors audio clips of Cohen saying the case “fills me with delight” and that imagining Trump and his family in prison made him feel “giddy with hope and laughter”.
“Does the outcome of this trial affect you personally?” Mr Blanche asked.
“Yes,” Cohen replied. He is due to return to the witness stand on Monday.
Michael Cohen (right) was Donald Trump’s fixer. Pic: AP
Cohen worked as the former president’s fixer. He once described himself as Trump’s “spokesman, thug, pit bull and lawless lawyer”.
He once said he would take a bullet for his boss and admitted at the end of questioning on Tuesday that he “violated my moral compass” while working for Trump.
Hush money payouts are not illegal, but Trump is accused of falsifying business records to hide it – a claim he denies.
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