[ad_1]

Andrew Tate claimed a woman accusing him of rape followed him to Romania and made up the allegation when he refused to give her €200,000 to buy a house.

He also told judges in Bucharest that ‘it’s time for this circus to end’ as he argued that prosecutors had only considered ‘small snippets’ of information relevant to the case.

The British-American former kickboxer, 36, has maintained his innocence since he was arrested with his brother, Tristan, 34, over allegations of rape, human trafficking and setting up an organised crime group on December 29 2022.

He said the rape allegation against him lacked ‘concrete evidence’ at the Court of Appeal in the Romanian capital earlier this month. 

His brother Tristan was seen this morning protesting his innocence to journalists outside the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) in Romania, where they have been moved for questioning.

Police officers escort Andrew, right, handcuffed to his brother Tristan, left, outside the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) in Romania on Thursday

Police officers escort Andrew, right, handcuffed to his brother Tristan, left, outside the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) in Romania on Thursday

Former kickboxer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have been held since December on charges of being part of an organised crime group, human trafficking and rape

Former kickboxer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have been held since December on charges of being part of an organised crime group, human trafficking and rape

Earlier this month, the Bucharest Court of Appeal heard Andrew Tate’s defence against allegations that he raped a woman staying with him in the eastern European country between November 2021 and April 2022. 

Romanian news outlet Gandul reports that the woman asked to move to Romania with him and filed a rape allegation nearly six months later when he refused to give her money to buy a house and become a TikTok star. 

See also  Charles and Camilla are 'weary' of Harry and Meghan's never-ending criticism of the royals

The woman reportedly had a drug addiction when they met at the strip club she worked at in London.

Tate said he allowed the woman to move to Romania with him on her own. 

Due to her drug problem, the woman was told to stay with Tate’s assistant, Georgiana Naghel, who was also arrested as part of the investigation.

Police claim Naghel and ex-police worker Luana Radu acted as the brothers’ lieutenants, helping to keep six women like prisoners and forcing them to make online porn videos. 

Tate claims, however, that his accuser raised a complaint after he refused to give her money to ‘open a bar on the beach, to play in a television show and to become famous on TikTok’.

He alleges that the woman asked for €200,000 to buy a house for her sister in Chisinau, the capital of neighbouring Moldova.

Andrew Tate (pictured in handcuffs) and his brother were moved to DIICOT on Wednesday, where prosecutors examined electronic equipment confiscated during the investigation in their case, in Bucharest.

Andrew Tate (pictured in handcuffs) and his brother were moved to DIICOT on Wednesday, where prosecutors examined electronic equipment confiscated during the investigation in their case, in Bucharest.

Who is Andrew Tate?

Andrew Tate rose to fame as a kickboxer in the 2000s.

In 2009, he won the British International Sport Karate Association cruiserweight championship in Derby.

Tate won his first ISKA world title in 2011 and joined Twitter as he gained an international reputation.

He founded a self-described ‘webcam pimping’ company around this time with his brother, which he later admitted was a ‘scam’, using women to exploit customers for money.

Tate was removed from the Big Brother house after a week after footage emerged of him whipping and slapping an ex-girlfriend, which both later said was consensual.

See also  Missing schoolgirl, 12, found after she vanished and refused to tell parents where she was

Tate moved to Romania to live in a compound surrounded by armed guards in 2017. He was banned from Twitter for comments attributing ‘some responsibility’ to rape victims.

His videos gained popularity in 2022 through TikTok, Instagram and YouTube shorts, with misogynistic soundbites shared millions of times.

Tate claims he was playing a character and taken out of context. 

The brothers’ safehouse was raided in April 2022 after authorities believed two women were  being held against their will.

Both were eventually released but the investigation was reported ongoing. 

Tate was restored to Twitter by Elon Musk, soon after provoked a spat with Greta Thunberg and was subsequently arrested.

Andrew and his brother moved into a converted warehouse in Romania, which they staffed with armed guards, in 2017.

At their safehouse on the outskirts of Bucharest, the Tate brothers had a video chat studio where several women were found during a police raid in April 2022.

Prosecutors claim the brothers lured women into the studio where they were sexually exploited through ‘acts of physical violence and mental coercion (through intimidation, constant supervision, control and invocation of alleged debts)’, and made to produce and share pornographic material.

Andrew had boasted in a YouTube video before his arrest that the women who stayed with him were not allowed to leave; he said, ‘you don’t go nowhere’. 

Tate is also accused of raping the Moldovan woman, who he alleges followed him from London, in March 2022, which he categorically denies. 

On Thursday, brother Tristan, also a former professional kickboxer, said to journalists: ‘What evidence is there against Tristan Tate? There is none. That should be the news of the day.’

See also  Australian swimmer Cate Campbell reveals she 'had a complete breakdown' after Tokyo Olympics

Andrew Tate was not seen speaking to cameras today.  

On a podcast prior to his arrest, when asked why he moved to Romania initially, Tate said ‘being able to evade rape allegations’ was his motivation. 

He added: ‘I am not a rapist, but I like the idea of just being able to do what I want. I like being free.’ 

The brothers’ alleged sex trafficking victims claimed they would call them ‘slaves’ and duped them into becoming webcam porn workers with promises of marriage. 

The brothers’ head of security told the BBC that some of the women who spent time with the brothers at their compound in Romania ‘misunderstood the reality and believed [they would] be [Andrew Tate’s] next wife.

‘When they realised the reality, it’s easy to transform from a friend into an enemy, and make a statement to the police.’

Andrew Tate is led in handcuffs to Bucharest's directorate for investigating organised crime and terrorism building on Thursday

Andrew Tate is led in handcuffs to Bucharest’s directorate for investigating organised crime and terrorism building on Thursday

Tate was handcuffed to his brother Tristan as police escorted them to the police HQ

Tate was handcuffed to his brother Tristan as police escorted them to the police HQ

The brothers have denied the allegations made against them.

Asked if he had hurt any women, Tate said: ‘Of course not’.  

No charges have yet been laid against them, with Andrew saying in his first public comment since his arrest yesterday: ‘They know we have done nothing wrong.

‘This file is completely empty. Of course it’s unjust. There is no justice in Romania.’

[ad_2]

Source link