An indictment against Mr. Tate, the online influencer facing accusations of human trafficking and sexual misconduct, was sent back to prosecutors, an appeals court said.
Dec. 20, 2024
A trial in Romania for Andrew Tate, the online influencer who is facing criminal accusations involving human trafficking and sexual misconduct, will not go ahead, at least for now, after an appeals court sent an indictment back to prosecutors on Thursday.
The Bucharest Court of Appeal found that the indictment did not meet the requirements for the case to move to a trial. It was another setback for the prosecutors who had reworked the indictment after the court last month said there were issues over evidence and how the case was handled.
Judges with the Bucharest Court of Appeal said Thursday that they had identified issues in “the manner of presenting the facts and describing the constituent elements in the case” and that Mr. Tate’s right to defense had been violated.
The prosecutors in the case did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was not clear if they would continue pursuing the case.
Mr. Tate’s lawyer, Eugen Vidineac, called it a “significant legal victory” for Mr. Tate and his brother, Tristan, who is also a defendant in the case, along with two Romanian women.
In a statement shared through his spokeswoman, Mr. Tate again denounced the charges against him: “This is all a lie, and I will fight to the very end to expose it and prove my innocence.”
Mr. Tate, a British American influencer known for promoting
an antagonistic brand of masculinity tied to displays of wealth and misogynistic views, is facing an array of criminal accusations in Romania and Britain. His legal team is fighting the accusations and terms of custody for Mr. Tate and his brother in a protracted battle that began after their arrest two years ago in Romania, where they had been living.
Romanian prosecutors had
indicted Mr. Tate and his brother on charges of human trafficking and exploiting women. According to court documents, the investigators said that the brothers had forced several women to live in a compound and to appear in pornographic videos that were posted online.
Some details of the case are confidential, but Mr. Tate is also facing a rape charge, according to an official in the prosecutors’ office.