Romanian prosecutors have officially indicted Andrew Tate on a series of serious charges, including trafficking minors, sex with a minor, and money laundering. At the same time, his brother, Tristan Tate, has been indicted for complicity in the case. The new accusations add to the already steep list of charges that the brothers are currently facing in Britain, marking an escalation in the legal trouble the brothers are dealing with.
According to the Associated Press, the indictment was announced on Friday in Bucharest by DIICOT, Romania’s anti-organized crime agency. However, this isn’t the first time. Andrew Tate, 39, and his 38-year-old brother Tristan hold dual U.S. and British citizenship. They are very controversial for building an extensive social media empire around messages of wealth, male dominance, and misogyny.
The agency reportedly claims that the brothers coerced a victim by pretending to be in a loving relationship before forcing her to produce pornographic material for an online webcam business. They were originally arrested on these charges in late 2022 and formally indicted in 2023. However, in 2024, a court returned the case to DIICOT, citing multiple legal and procedural irregularities with the prosecution. That case reportedly remains open. That same year, the Tate brothers were investigated for the trafficking of minors.
An expected indictment
Per AP News, DIICOT’s current charges allege that the brothers recruited a 15-year-old girl in Luton, England, back in 2012. The agency claims that after she was repeatedly transported to Romania, the Tate brothers obtained more than $1.2 million from her webcam activity. Furthermore, the crime agency alleges that Tristan Tate was aware that the girl had been recruited by his brother. Additionally, he was allegedly aware of her age.
Prosecutors argue that between 2014 and 2021, Tristan facilitated her sexual exploitation by lying to her about Andrew’s “feelings and intentions.” The outlet noted that the allegations also claim that between December 2020 and mid-2021, Andrew Tate “repeatedly had sexual intercourse and sexual acts with another minor victim,” who was also aged 15.
The financial side of these allegations is equally complex, per AP News. Between December 2023 and July 2024, DIICOT alleges the Tates tried to “hide or disguise the illicit origin of the money” obtained from human trafficking by buying four luxury cars worth about 825,000 euros ($957,000). The agency has requested that these vehicles be confiscated.
DIICOT reportedly also alleges that the brothers paid or intimidated their victims in an attempt to influence them “not to give statements or to give false statements.” Both brothers have repeatedly denied the allegations against them, with Andrew even claiming there was a political conspiracy to silence them.
The brothers are currently being held in a Miami jail. Per Reuters, they were arrested on July 18th, after the United Kingdom put in an extradition request for both brothers on multiple charges, including rape. The Tate brothers are now contesting the extradition. However, on August 27, Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis declined to rule immediately on the brothers’ request for bail during a hearing in Miami federal court, which leaves them in federal custody for now.
During the hearing, federal prosecutors argued that the brothers posed a danger to the community. Prosecutor Abbie Waxman presented a video to the court showing Andrew Tate saying, “slap, slap, grab, choke, shut up bitch, sex.” Waxman stated, “They promote incredible violence against women,” adding, “It is not a character, it is who they are.”
On the witness stand, both brothers argued that they were acting and portraying characters online. Andrew Tate told the court that his online character, Top G, was a “hyperbolic character” meant to “shake men out of apathy.” Tristan Tate echoed this sentiment, testifying that the character “makes him go viral.” He added, “He’s the only person in the world who is judged by a character that he plays.”
The defense also called Natasha Sesay, the mother of one of Andrew Tate’s children, to testify. She claimed that his online persona did not reflect his true self, stating, “It’s a very different character between the person that you see online and the person I know.” However, during cross-examination, she also acknowledged that Tate paid for her home in Dubai and provided luxury items like bags, shoes, and jewelry.
Britain is currently seeking to extradite the brothers to face charges involving four alleged victims between July 2010 and August 2017, as well as previous charges related to three other victims. Britain is seeking to extradite Andrew and Tristan Tate on both sets of charges and has until September 16th to submit its complete request to the State Department. As such, the complete legal process to determine if they will be extradited could take months.
Published: Sep 5, 2026 10:41 am