Romanian prosecutors have officially indicted social media influencers Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate on charges of trafficking and sex crimes. The brothers are accused of coercing a 15-year-old girl into performing sex acts on video chats and making over $1.2 million in the process. The indictment also accuses Andrew Tate of having sex with a minor and money laundering, while Tristan Tate is charged with complicity in trafficking minors and money laundering. Romanian prosecutors have requested that four of the brothers' luxury cars worth £710,000 be confiscated as part of their investigation.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event.
- Published
Romanian prosecutors have officially indicted social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate with a range of trafficking and sex offences.
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prosecutors → publish → offences
They are accused of making more than $1.2m (£888,000) by coercing a girl to perform sex acts on video chats, according to the Romanian Directorate for Investigating Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT).
Andrew, 39, is charged with trafficking minors, money laundering and having sex with a minor. Tristan, 38, is charged with complicity in trafficking in minors and money laundering.
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Tristan → accuse → minors
The Tates - currently in a Miami jail fighting extradition to the UK over separate charges - deny all the allegations.
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Tates → fight → allegations
The brothers - former kickboxers with dual US and British citizenship - have been under criminal investigation in Romania since December 2022.
They have been mainly based there since 2017, drawing a large social media audience - many of them young men - through misogynistic messages and images of a luxury lifestyle.
Romanian prosecutors described a case as centring on a vulnerable female who was 15 at the time of the alleged offence, in information released on Friday.
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who → base → Friday
She is alleged to have been recruited by Andrew and housed in a building in Luton, Bedfordshire, so he could sexually exploit her.
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he → allege → her
Tristan is alleged to have been an accessory, prosecutors say, using physical aggression to coerce the victim.
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prosecutors → allege → victim
DIICOT investigators allege Andrew controlled her through surveillance and physical aggression, and coerced her to perform sex acts on video chats for his financial gain.
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Andrew → allege → gain
Andrew is also accused of moving her to Romania to carry on exploiting her in two of his homes.
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Andrew → accuse → homes
He is separately charged with having sex with a minor, who was 15, in Romania.
Prosecutors have also requested four of the brothers' luxury cars worth £710,000 be confiscated.
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four → charge → cars
They believe money was laundered through their purchase.
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money → believe → purchase
The two brothers were previously indicted in Romania on trafficking charges, but in 2024 an appeals court in Bucharest sent the case back to prosecutors after deeming some evidence inadmissible.
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evidence → indict → prosecutors
It is not yet clear if DIICOT will seek their extradition from the US and the indictment has to be examined by a judge before any trial can begin.
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trial → seek → judge
The Tates have denied all the allegations and say their online personas are not their real personalities.
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personas → deny → allegations
Their lawyer in Romania, Eugen Constantin Vidineac, said: "Today's decision by DIICOT does not determine guilt and it should not be presented as though it does.
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it → say → guilt
It represents the prosecution's latest attempt to bring this case before a court following the failure of its previous indictment to proceed to trial.
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"The history of these proceedings matters.
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history → matter → proceedings
The previous indictment was subjected to judicial scrutiny and the court identified significant irregularities which prevented the case from moving forward to trial.
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which → subject → trial
"DIICOT has now chosen to file a new indictment.
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DIICOT → choose → indictment
We will examine every aspect of it with the same level of scrutiny and we will challenge any evidential, procedural or legal deficiencies through the appropriate judicial process.
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we → examine → process
"Our clients continue to reject the allegations against them.
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clients → continue → them
They have the right to the presumption of innocence, the right to properly examine the evidence relied upon against them and the right to mount an effective defence.
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They → have → defence
A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the Tate brothers were charged with further offences.
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brothers → state → offences
The article has been updated to make clear they have been officially indicted with offences of which they had already been accused.
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they → update → which
It has also been updated to reflect that Andrew, not Tristan, was alleged to have recruited the 15-year-old.
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Andrew → update → old
