BUCHAREST, Jan 25 (Reuters) – Andrew Tate, a reclusive internet personality, said on Wednesday there was no justice in Romania and that the criminal case against him for human trafficking and rape was empty.
Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian women were in police custody guardianship Since December, 29 women have been under investigation for forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit them, the charges have been denied.
Romanian court on Thursday extended jail until February 27. Prosecutors said the Tate brothers recruited their victims by deceiving them and falsely claiming they wanted a relationship or marriage.
Prosecutors said the victims were then taken to properties on the outskirts of the capital Bucharest and sexually abused, forced to create pornographic content for social media sites through physical violence and mental intimidation.
They also said former professional kickboxer Andrew Tate, a US and British citizen, assaulted one of the victims in March last year, which he denied.
“They know we didn’t do anything wrong,” Tate told reporters as he was brought in for further questioning by prosecutors fighting organized crime, his first comments to the media since his arrest. “This file is completely empty. Of course it is unfair, unfortunately there is no justice in Romania.”
When asked whether he did not hurt women, Tate answered: “Of course not.”
Romanian authorities said earlier this month was captured 18 million lei ($3.99 million) worth of goods and money, including luxury cars and properties under investigation.
“There is no evidence against me,” Tristan Tate told reporters Wednesday. “The authorities plan to steal my cars and my money. That’s why I’m in jail.”
Prosecutors said the arrest was aimed at preventing the concealment of assets.
Their lawyer, Eugen Vidineac, told reporters after the questioning that the Tates were “confident in the defense, confident in the evidence in their favor, they gave detailed statements, they cooperated (with authorities).”
“We believe the defense is starting to take shape.”
Andrew Tate gained mainstream notoriety for misogynistic remarks that led to him being banned from all major social media platforms, although his Twitter account was reinstated in November after Elon Musk bought the social media network.
Reporting by Louise Ilie and Octav Ghanea; Edited by Nick Macfie and Daniel Wallis
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