Romanian prosecutors take away luxury cars seized in Andrew Tate case

After Tate failed his legal appeal on charged of human trafficking, authorities have begun to seize Tate's cars and properties

 Andrew Tate (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Andrew Tate
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Romanian authorities started on Saturday to take away luxury cars seized as part of criminal inquiry into alleged human trafficking that led to the arrest of divisive internet personality Andrew Tate.

Romanian anti-organized crime prosecutors detained Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects on December 29 on charges of forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit six women. They have denied wrongdoing.

The seizure of property

A Reuters reporter saw several cars, including a Rolls-Royce, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, being taken from the Tate compound on the outskirts of the capital, Bucharest, to be transported to a storage location.

Earlier this week, prosecutors told Reuters they had seized 15 luxury vehicles and more than 10 properties and homes belonging to the suspects in Bucharest and the counties of Prahova and Brasov to prevent the assets being sold or hidden.

Tate's lawyer was not immediately available for comment.

There has recently been a surge in online purchases of larger, luxury items such as cars, kitchens and even homes during the coronavirus pandemic (credit: REUTERS/MIKE BLAKE)
There has recently been a surge in online purchases of larger, luxury items such as cars, kitchens and even homes during the coronavirus pandemic (credit: REUTERS/MIKE BLAKE)

The four suspects challenged their 30-day arrest warrant earlier this week, but the Bucharest court of appeals rejected the challenge and said they should remain in police custody.

Tate, a former contestant on the UK reality show Big Brother, gained notoriety for misogynistic remarks and hate speech.

His remarks got him banned from all major social media platforms, although his Twitter account became active again in November after Elon Musk acquired the platform.

Tate, who holds US and British nationality, has said women are partially responsible for being raped and that they belong to men.