ABC News: Top Stories
· collected 2026-09-04 · by STEPHEN MCGRATH Associated Press, VADIM GHIRDA Associated Press
Romanian prosecutors have indicted social media influencer Andrew Tate, 39, and his brother Tristan Tate, 38, on charges of trafficking minors, sex with a minor, and money laundering. According to the indictment, the brothers coerced a victim into producing pornographic material for an online webcam business by pretending to be in a loving relationship. The case stems from an investigation that led to their arrest in late 2022 and alleges that they obtained over $1.2 million from human trafficking between 2012 and 2021. The indictment also accuses Andrew Tate of repeatedly having sex with another minor victim between December 2020 and mid-2021.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-04,
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Story summary
Andrew Tate, a social media influencer with dual British and US citizenship, has been indicted by Romanian prosecutors on charges of trafficking minors, money laundering, sex with a minor, and witness tampering. His brother, Tristan Tate, was also indicted for complicity in the case. The indictment alleges that the Tates recruited their victims by seducing them and falsely claiming to want a relationship or marriage, before forcing them to produce pornographic content for a webcam business. According to prosecutors, one of the victims was a 15-year-old girl from Britain who was coerced into producing online content in Romania.
The case against the Tates has been ongoing since December 2022, and they have denied all wrongdoing. The brothers were arrested in Miami in July after Britain requested their extradition on rape charges. They remain in jail while a judge decides on the request for their extradition to Britain.
The indictment is based on an investigation by Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), which found that the Tates earned over $1.25 million from selling online content featuring their victims. The case has sparked widespread outrage, with many critics calling for greater action against online exploitation.
The Tates' lawyer, Eugen Vidineac, said in a statement that they will "examine every aspect of the indictment" and challenge any "evidential, procedural or legal deficiencies through the appropriate judicial process."
Written for “Andrew Tate's Romanian Indictment” on 2026-09-05,
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Leaning score -0.35 for article 3787 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-09-04
Romanian prosecutors indict Andrew Tate on trafficking minors and money laundering
Romanian prosecutors have indicted social media influencer Andrew Tate on charges including trafficking minors and money laundering
BUCHAREST, Romania --
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prosecutors → indict → minors
Romanian prosecutors on Friday indicted social media influencer Andrew Tate on charges of trafficking minors, sex with a minor, and money laundering.
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prosecutors → indict → minor
Tate, 39, and his brother Tristan Tate, 38, were first arrested in Romania’s capital, Bucharest, in late 2022.
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Tate → arrest → 2022
Tristan is indicted with complicity in the case, according to DIICOT, Romania’s anti-organized crime agency.
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Tristan → indict → DIICOT
The agency said on Friday that the Tate brothers coerced a victim by pretending to be in a loving relationship and then forcing her to produce pornographic material for an online webcam business.
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brothers → say → business
A lawyer for the Tate brothers in Romania did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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lawyer → respond → comment
The new indictment stems from an investigation that led to the brothers’ arrest in 2022 and their being formally indicted in 2023.
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their → stem → 2023
A court returned that case to DIICOT in 2024 because of multiple legal and procedural irregularities on the part of the prosecutors.
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court → return → prosecutors
The case wasn’t closed, and there was also a separate legal case against the brothers in Romania in 2024.
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case → close → 2024
The Tates, who are dual U.S.-British citizens, are among the world’s most polarizing internet personalities by promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny through their social media empire.
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who → promote → empire
DIICOT alleges that in 2012 the brothers recruited a 15-year-old girl in Luton, a town in England where the brothers are from, and that they obtained more than $1.2 million from her webcam activity after she was repeatedly transported to Romania.
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she → allege → Romania
The crime agency alleges that Tristan Tate knew the victim’s age, that she had been recruited by Andrew, and that between 2014 and 2021 he knowingly deceived her about his brother’s “feelings and intentions,” which helped to facilitate her sexual exploitation.
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which → allege → exploitation
It is further alleged that between December 2020 and mid-2021, Andrew Tate “repeatedly had sexual intercourse and sexual acts with another minor victim,” who was also aged 15.
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who → allege → victim
Between December 2023 and July 2024, DIICOT alleges the Tates tried to “hide or disguise the illicit origin of the money” obtained from human trafficking by purchasing four luxury cars worth about 825,000 euros ($957,000), and said they had requested the vehicles confiscated.
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vehicles → allege → cars
Both the Tate brothers have repeatedly denied the allegations against them.
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brothers → deny → them
Andrew Tate has also claimed that there is a political conspiracy to silence them.
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Tate → claim → them
The Tates were arrested in Bucharest in late 2022 on charges they participated in a criminal ring that lured women to Romania, where they were sexually exploited.
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they → arrest → Romania
Andrew Tate was also charged with rape.
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Tate → charge → rape
DIICOT alleges in the new indictment that their victims had been paid or intimidated in attempts to influence them “not to give statements or to give false statements.”
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victims → allege → statements
The Tates are currently being held in Miami after prosecutors in the United Kingdom requested their extradition in July on sex crimes allegations.
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prosecutors → hold → allegations
The Tates took the witness stand in federal court last week and said they can’t adequately defend themselves from criminal sex charges if they have to remain in a Miami jail while fighting extradition to the U.K.
Their lawyers repeated arguments from court filings that the U.K.’s extradition request was out of line because their criminal case in Romania is going first.
Romanian officials allowed the Tates to remain free with some restrictions — including reporting to a Bucharest police station — while the proceedings are ongoing.
—
McGrath reported from Leamington Spa, England.
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McGrath → take → Spa
