According to a Romanian court, a human trafficking case against popular influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate cannot go to trial in its current form. The case was returned to prosecutors for more consideration after the Bucharest Court of Appeals upheld the brothers' petition on Thursday. Prosecutors now have five days to change the indictment or remove the accusations after the judge returned the matter to them for the second time.
The 38 and 36-year-old Tate brothers are charged with organising a group to sexually exploit women and engaging in human trafficking. They have vehemently refuted the accusations. Prosecutors were forced to revise their brief after the same court in November discovered "irregularities" in the indictment against them. The court at the time also declared several comments made by the putative victims to be inadmissible, removing a number of pieces of evidence.
Prosecutors suffered yet another loss Thursday when the brothers successfully appealed. They have charged the dual citizens of the US and the UK with abusing women through a supposedly illegal adult content company. The indictment, which was released in June of last year and mentioned seven accused victims, also implicated two female Romanian associates.
Self-described sexist Andrew Tate has already been barred from social media for voicing similar opinions. Millions of people follow the former kickboxer on social media, where he frequently combines political commentary with displays of a flamboyant lifestyle. He has been residing in Romania for a number of years having previously been stationed in the UK.
"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," he said in a statement after Thursday's decision in his favour. And yet, they have nothing." He continued: "This is all a lie, and I will fight to the very end to expose it and prove my innocence."
Tristan, his brother, stated: "If there isn't enough evidence to go to trial after all of these years, that means there never was enough evidence." DIICOT, Romania's public prosecutor's office, has not yet responded to the decision.
It said in August that it had opened a second criminal investigation into the Tate brothers in connection with fresh claims of money laundering, sexual relations with a minor, and child trafficking. In the same month, a Romanian judge put Andrew Tate under home imprisonment and his brother under special judicial surveillance.
In connection with claims of rape and human trafficking, UK authorities are also requesting the Tate brothers' extradition. Those accusations are denied by the Tate brothers. In the UK, they have also been charged with tax evasion. When the Tate brothers failed to pay taxes on £21 million in earnings from their internet enterprises, a British court decided on Wednesday that police might confiscate almost £2 million from them.
