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ANDREW and Tristan Tate are facing 21 complaints of rape and sexual assault in the UK, judicial sources say.
The controversial brothers are due to be extradited to Britain after being arrested as part of the UK’s “Operation Moon” investigation.
AFP
EPAAndrew, 37, and Tristan, 35, were arrested in December 2022 on charges of human trafficking, rape and organised crime that date back to 2012 and 2015.
They are still awaiting trial a year later – and deny all charges against them.
On Monday night, the brothers were arrested on a new UK warrant.
Dozens of Romanian police stormed their £600,000 villa outside of Bucharest – and the pair were yesterday hauled back to court in Romania.
Judicial sources told Romanian outlet Gandul that 21 complaints of rape and sexual assault had been filed against the brothers in the UK.
The insider claimed some of the victims were drugged and subjected to sexual assault between 2012 and 2015.
Both brothers could face life sentences, according to the source.
Four women in the UK threatened Tate with a lawsuit last June, accusing him of “violent rapes, serious physical assault, and controlling and coercive behaviour”.
But those women have confirmed this week’s arrest on a UK warrant is over separate complaints.
They said: “We understand that this extradition request was made because of criminal complaints of sexual assault made by other women, and not because of the complaints were made almost a decade ago.”
Bedfordshire Police confirmed to The Sun they were working with Romanian authorities on their continued probe – but once proceedings end, the brothers can be extradited to the UK.
Hours after their court appearance, the force put out a statement confirming the arrests as part of “Operation Moonwalk”.
A spokesman added: “We understand this is a distressing subject, and people may be impacted by what they are seeing in the news.
“Bedfordshire Police takes all reports of sexual offences seriously, and further support is available via our website or by calling 101.
“Anyone with information about this specific investigation should call 101, and quote Operation Moonwalk.”
The brothers were detained for 24 hours pending a ruling on the British arrest warrant.
Who is Andrew Tate?
ANDREW Tate is an influencer and former kickboxer who once briefly appeared on Big Brother.
He was born on December 1, 1986, in Washington, D.C. and spent time in Chicago and Indiana as a child before moving to England.
Tate began practising kickboxing in 2005 but became a public figure when he entered the Big Brother house as a contestant during the show’s run on Channel 5.
Since appearing on the reality series, Tate began gaining millions of followers by styling himself as “the king of toxic masculinity”.
He caused outrage in September in 2017 when he said that depression was not a real disease.
Later that year, he shockingly claimed women should bear “some responsibility” for being raped, following the allegations made against disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
Tate has several other business ventures, including Hustler University and a string of casinos he owns with his brother Tristan.
Tate was charged with human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group to sexually exploit women by a Romanian court on June 20, 2023.
His brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects were also formally charged.
In August 2023 Tate won an appeal to be released from house arrest in Romania.
As of March 2024, he, his brother Tristan, and the two female suspects are still awaiting trial.
They “categorically reject” all new charges – and have since been released from custody.
Eugen Vidineac, a lawyer representing the Tates, said: “This ruling provides an opportunity for the brothers to participate fully in their defence and for the legal process to proceed in a transparent manner.”
He also denied any allegations that Andrew had been planning to flee the country.
Andrew and Tristan were charged by police in June as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation in Romania.
They have been accused of recruiting women on social media platforms and getting them to visit their villa on the outskirts of Bucharest.
Both men are alleged to have pretended to fall in love with the women before getting them to work for their business and making them perform sexual acts on webcams.
Andrew and Tristan have both denied the allegations of trafficking and rape.
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