BUCHAREST: A court in Romania’s capital on Friday denied a request by online influencer Andrew Tate to return assets that were seized during investigations into the case in which he is charged with human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
The Bucharest Tribunal ruled that all assets seized will remain in possession of Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, Tate’s spokesperson said, adding that the decision will be appealed. Tate, 37, won an appeal in January challenging the asset seizures, which triggered a retrial.
The former professional kickboxer was arrested in December 2022 near Bucharest along with his brother Tristan Tate and two Romanian women. Romanian prosecutors formally indicted all four in June last year. They have denied the allegations.
After the Tates were detained, Romanian authorities seized 15 luxury cars, 14 designer watches and cash in several currencies. The fleet of automobiles included a Rolls-Royce, a Ferrari, a Porsche, a BMW, an Aston Martin and a Mercedes-Benz. The total value of the goods, authorities said at the time, was estimated at 3.6 million euros ($3.9 million).
DIICOT also said it had identified more than 10 properties and land owned by companies registered to the Tate brothers, and that their assets could be used to fund investigations and compensate victims if the authorities could prove they were gained through illicit activities.
Andrew Tate, who has amassed 9 million followers on the social media platform X, has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy to silence him. He was previously banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and for hate speech.
The decision on Friday came a week after the Tate brothers appeared at the Bucharest Court of Appeal in a separate case. British authorities issued arrest warrants over allegations of sexual aggression in a UK case dating back to 2012-2015, according to the brothers’ spokesperson.
The court granted the British authorities their request to extradite the Tates, but only after legal proceedings against them have been concluded in Romania.
The Romanian case is still being discussed in the preliminary chamber stages, when defendants can challenge prosecutors’ evidence. No trial date has been set.
Last week, the Bucharest Tribunal, the court of first instance, extended by 60 days geographical restrictions against the Tates, which stipulate they may not leave the country.
A Romanian court rejects Andrew Tate’s bid to get his confiscated assets returned
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A Romanian court rejects Andrew Tate’s bid to get his confiscated assets returned
- The Bucharest Tribunal ruled that all assets seized will remain in possession of Romania’s anti-organized crime agency
- After the Tates were detained, Romanian authorities seized 15 luxury cars, 14 designer watches and cash in several currencies
Cuba says a 5th person died after people on a Florida-flagged speedboat opened fire on soldiers
- Authorities in Cuba said that on Feb. 26 Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops
- The shooting threatened to increase tensions between US President Donald Trump and Cuban authorities
HAVANA: Cuba said a fifth person has died as a consequence of a fatal shootout last month involving a Florida-flagged speedboat that allegedly opened fire on soldiers in waters off the island nation’s north coast.
The island’s interior ministry said late Thursday in a statement that Roberto Álvarez Ávila died on March 4 as a result of his injuries. It added that the remaining injured detainees “continue to receive specialized medical care according to their health status.”
Authorities in Cuba said that on Feb. 26 Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops. They said the passengers were armed Cubans living in the US who were trying to infiltrate the island and “unleash terrorism”. Cuba said its soldiers killed four people and wounded six others.
“The statements made by the detainees themselves, together with a series of investigative procedures, reinforce the evidence against them,” the Cuban interior ministry said in its statement, adding that “new elements are being obtained that establish the involvement of other individuals based in the US”
Earlier this week, Cuba said it had filed terrorism charges against six suspects that were on the speedboat. The government unveiled items said to have been found on the boat, including a dozen high-powered weapons, more than 12,800 pieces of ammunition and 11 pistols.
Cuban authorities have provided few details about the shooting, but said the boat was roughly 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) northeast of Cayo Falcones, off the country’s north coast. They also provided the boat’s registration number, but The Associated Press was unable to readily verify the details because boat registrations are not public in the state of Florida.
The shooting threatened to increase tensions between US President Donald Trump and Cuban authorities. The island’s economy was until recently largely kept economically afloat by Venezuela’s oil, which is now in doubt after a US military operation deposed then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
