Romanian authorities have confiscated several luxury cars, including a Rolls-Royce, a BMW and a Mercedes-Benz from Andrew Tate’s property in Bucharest.
The luxury vehicles were taken from the compound of the former kickboxer, influencer and self-professed misogynist on Saturday and transported to a storage facility, according to Reuters.
Earlier this week, prosecutors revealed they had seized 15 luxury vehicles and more than 10 properties as part of investigations into the charges against Tate, 36.
He is being detained, along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women, on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised criminal gang to sexually exploit women. Both men have denied wrongdoing.
The country’s organised crime agency, Diicot, previously stated Tate’s belongings were being confiscated to prevent them being concealed, to help pay for the investigation and to pay damages to victims if the suspects are convicted.
Earlier this week, a Romanian court rejected Tate’s appeal against his detention, ruling that he must remain in custody while an organised crime investigation continues.
All four were ordered to be held in preventive detention for the full 30 days to which they were remanded. The judge said that, given the “financial capability” of the two men, the possibility the brothers may “evade investigation, leave Romania and settle in countries that do not allow extradition … cannot be ignored”.
Andrew Tate was thrown off the UK reality show Big Brother in 2016 and became notorious for his misogynistic remarks and hate speech. After amassing millions of followers on social media, he was eventually banned from all major platforms, only to be reinstated on Twitter in November after Elon Musk acquired the company.
Andrew Tate, a dual US-British citizen, has said women are partially responsible for being raped and that they belong to men. Guns, knives and money were found by Diicot agents at the scene of his arrest.
Diicot and Romanian prosecutors allege that the brothers recruited victims by seducing them and pretending to want a romantic relationship.
The victims were then allegedly taken to properties on the outskirts of Bucharest, where they were forced “through physical violence, mental intimidation and coercion” to produce highly profitable pornography for social media sites.
The investigation was launched after one of the brothers allegedly raped one of the trafficked victims last March. Prosecutors have so far identified six alleged victims.
Tate’s lawyer, Eugen Vidineac, was not immediately available for comment after reports about the seizure of the luxury vehicles.
Previously, Vidineac had argued there was “no evidence” to support the allegations and that the defence had not been able to properly study the prosecution’s file.
He claimed Tate had been playing a particular kind of character on social media that might bear no relation to his character in real life.
