Andrew Tate indicted in Romania for trafficking minors, money laundering

Romanian prosecutors have indicted controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate on charges of trafficking minors, sex with a minor and money laundering.

The move on Friday piles further legal pressure on Tate, who along with his brother were jailed in the United States in July after prosecutors in the United Kingdom requested their extradition on rape charges .

Romania’s anti-organised crime agency DIICOT said in a statement that Tate and his brother Tristan, who was indicted for complicity in the case, recruited their victims by falsely claiming to seek a relationship or marriage before forcing them to produce sexually exploitative content for a webcam business.

DIICOT said one of Andrew Tate’s victims was 15 when he seduced her in Britain in 2012 before moving her to the Romanian capital Bucharest and using physical violence and psychological intimidation to force her into producing indecent images of children for social media.

Tristan was an accessory, the unit said, and used physical aggression to coerce the victim.

Prosecutors said the brothers kept $1.25m from the video chat income generated by the victim, or roughly 80 percent of her earnings. The brothers tried to launder the funds by buying four luxury cars, they added.

DIICOT alleges that the Tate brothers’ victims were paid or intimidated in a bid to coax them “not to give statements or to give false statements.”

Eugen Vidineac, a Romanian lawyer for the Tates, said in a statement that the brothers rejected the allegations.