A court in Romania has accepted an appeal filed by controversial Internet influencer Andrew Tate and his brother and sent his case on human trafficking and other charges back to prosecutors.
The Bucharest Court of Appeals said on on December 19 that it found "irregularities" in the indictment issued by the Prosecutor-General's Office. The prosecutors can now bring forth new evidence to back up their charges or amend the existing ones.
The ruling is a blow to Romania's anti-organized crime prosecuting unit DIICOT, which filed charges against Tate, his brother Tristan Tate, and two Romanian women after they were arrested in December 2022 on suspicion of human trafficking.
They were formally indicted last year, and the Bucharest Tribunal ruled earlier this year that a trial could start but did not set a date. All four deny the charges.
Andrew Tate, 38, and Tristen Tate, 36, are dual British-U.S. citizens and former kickboxers. Andrew Tate has amassed more than 10 million followers on the social media platform X but has been kicked off other platforms, including Facebook and TikTok over accusations of posting hate speech and misogynistic comments.
Eugen Vidineac, one of the Tate brothers’ lawyers, said the decision was “a significant legal victory” that “rightly determined that there is insufficient basis to proceed with the case.”
Mateea Petrescu, a spokeswoman for Andrew Tate, said the court's review "revealed significant procedural flaws and raised serious concerns about the integrity of the investigative process, further undermining the credibility of the prosecution’s case.”
Andrew Tate complained bitterly about the case in a statement issued after the ruling.
"They’ve had years to build their case -- years to tear apart my life, target everyone I know, and even subpoena the mother of my child," Tate said. "And yet, they have nothing."
DIICOT has not commented on the ruling.
The Bucharest Court of Appeal judges said in their decision that they had identified problems in "the manner of presenting the factual situation and describing the constitutive elements in the case" against the two female suspects. The judges also said Andrew Tate's right to a defense was violated in the way he was informed of the accusation of human trafficking regarding one of the alleged victims.
Andrew Tate in August was placed under house arrest and Tristan Tate under judicial control for 30 days after they were interrogated by Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors as part of an investigation into new allegations against them.
During the criminal investigation, prosecutors said they identified seven women who were sexually exploited "forcibly, in order to obtain significant financial benefits" for the defendants from people who accessed content on social media.
Prosecutors accused the Tate brothers of recruiting their victims using the so-called "lover boy" method, seducing them and claiming to want a relationship or marriage.
The victims were then taken to properties outside Bucharest, where they were sexually exploited through physical violence and psychological intimidation as they were forced to produce pornographic content, the prosecutors said.
Romanian investigators carried out the interrogations and fresh searches at the brothers’ residences as part of the investigation into the new charges. DIICOT said at the time that the new accusations included charges of forming an organized crime group, trafficking of minors, a sexual act with a minor, influencing statements, and money laundering.
The brothers said through a spokesperson that the fresh accusations were “not fully clarified."
They have been barred from leaving Romania as the proceedings against them continue but are set to be extradited to Britain once their case in Romania concludes.
They face further allegations of rape and human trafficking in Britain, where a court ruled on December 18 that police can seize more than 2.6 million pounds ($3.3 million) to cover years of unpaid taxes.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring of the Westminster Magistrates’ Court said what appeared to be a “complex financial matrix” was actually a “straightforward cheat of the revenue.”
Andrew Tate said in a statement that the ruling “is not justice” and claimed it was a “coordinated attack on anyone who dares to challenge the system.”
The Tate brothers have stated that they do not want to be extradited from Romania, which they said they consider their home.