Controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate will be held by police for 30 days as part of a human-trafficking and rape investigation, according to reports. Tate was arrested alongside his brother Tristan on Thursday.
The former kickboxer was initially held for 24 hours alongside his brother and two other suspects while his house was raided in the capital Bucharest on Thursday. The BBC reported on Friday evening (December 30) that a request from police to hold Tate in detention has now been granted by a Romanian court.
Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) issued a statement on the arrests, but did not name the Tates. It said two British citizens and two Romanians were suspected of being part of a criminal group focused on human trafficking.
Andrew Tate, 36, has yet to comment directly on the accusations. But after being detained, a tweet was sent from his Twitter account alluding to the 1999 movie The Matrix.
During the detention hearing, the two brothers maintained their right to silence, their lawyer told the BBC. Earlier, a police spokesperson said he would be held at a "detention centre".
Since retiring from combat sports, Tate, 36, has received attention for his comments on social media. In 2016, he was removed from Britain’s version of the Big Brother TV show over a video that appeared to show him hitting a woman with a belt.
The following year, he was banned from Twitter for saying women should “bear responsibility” for being sexually assaulted, but was reinstated last month. Earlier in the week, he sparked a war of words with climate activist Greta Thunberg when he shared a picture of himself standing next to a Bugatti and claimed he owned 33 cars.
