Divisive influencer Andrew Tate loses asset seizure appeal in Romania

A court in the Romanian capital of Bucharest has rejected an appeal by divisive social media personality Andrew Tate against asset seizures by prosecutors, who are investigating him on charges of being part of an organized crime group and human trafficking, an official said Wednesday.

Tate, 36, a British-U.S. citizen who has 4.5 million followers on Twitter, was detained on Dec. 29. in Bucharest, along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women. On Tuesday, a court upheld a judge's Dec. 30 move to extend their arrest from 24 hours to 30 days.

In a separate hearing Wednesday at the Bucharest Tribunal, Tate lost an appeal that challenged assets seized by prosecutors, including properties and a fleet of luxury cars, said Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romanian anti-organized crime agency DIICOT.

The court "decided that the seizures are legal and [that] the goods remain at our disposal," she told The Associated Press.

Prosecutors investigating the case have so far seized 15 luxury cars 11 in December raids and four last week.At least seven of the vehiclesare owned by the Tate brothers. More than 10 properties and land are ownedby companies registered to them. Bolla said it is not clear whether any assets seized since December were included in Wednesday's appeal.

Possible victim compensation

If prosecutors can prove the Tates gained money through human trafficking, Bolla said that the assets could be used to cover the expenses of the investigation and compensation for victims.

Before the court ruling Wednesday,Constantin Gliga, one of the lawyers representing Tate, told the media that the asset seizures are disproportional to the charges.

DIICOT said it has identified six victims in the human trafficking case who were subjected to "acts of physical violence and mental coercion" and were sexually exploited by the members of the alleged crime group.

The agency said victims were lured by pretenses of love, and were later intimidated, kept under surveillance and subjected to other control tactics while being coerced into performing in pornography intended to make money for the alleged victimizers.

Tate, a former professional kickboxer who has reportedly lived in Romania since 2017, was previously banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech.