Andrew and Tristan Tate have reportedly been hit with a new round of criminal charges out of Romania, escalating their years-long legal battle overseas even as the brothers remain in the United States.
According to TMZ, Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism announced Friday that it had indicted two British men from the same family, ages 39 and 38. Local media outlets identified them as the Tate brothers.
Andrew reportedly faces charges of trafficking minors, money laundering, sex with a minor, and witness tampering, while Tristan is believed to have been indicted for complicity in those alleged crimes.
Prosecutors allege the brothers recruited victims by pretending to want relationships with them, then coerced the women into producing pornographic content for their webcam business. One alleged victim claims Andrew brought her to Romania from the United Kingdom when she was just 15 years old and forced her into making content, with Tristan allegedly using physical aggression to keep her compliant.
The financial scale of the alleged scheme is staggering. Prosecutors claim the Tates collected more than $1 million from the content the underage victim was allegedly forced to produce, and further allege they attempted to launder those profits by purchasing four luxury vehicles.
Despite years of legal jeopardy in Romania, the Tate brothers remain stateside, currently fighting extradition to the United Kingdom. TMZ reports that if a judge signs off, the pair could potentially be tried in absentia back in Romania.
The brothers’ Romanian attorney, Eugen Vidineac, issued a defiant statement in response to the new indictment.
“We will examine every aspect of the indictment with the same level of scrutiny, and we will challenge any evidential, procedural or legal deficiencies through the appropriate judicial process,” Vidineac said.
This latest indictment adds to an already sprawling legal mess for the controversial internet personalities. Andrew Tate currently faces more than 50 counts in the United Kingdom alone, while Tristan is said to be contending with roughly 20 charges there.
The case has drawn massive attention since the Tates’ initial 2022 arrest in Romania, with the self-styled influencers denying wrongdoing throughout. As legal proceedings continue on multiple continents, the brothers show no signs of returning voluntarily to face the newest set of allegations against them, leaving the question of how, or whether, Romanian justice will ultimately catch up with them very much unresolved.
