Controversial online influencer and self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate has been arrested in Romania on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming an organized crime group, authorities confirmed.
The former kickboxer and reality TV star, who was banned from a number of social media platforms for misogynistic comments and hate speech, has been arrested along with his brother and two other suspects. They would be held for 24 hours, prosecutors from the Organized Crime Unit said in a statement after searching their properties in Bucharest.
The Tate brothers have been under criminal investigation since April. They declined to comment, but their lawyer confirmed they had been arrested.
A Tate spokesman told the Daily Mirror he could not provide details on the reports. “However, Andrew and Tristan Tate have the utmost respect for the Romanian authorities and will always help and assist in any way they can.”
According to a translated statement by investigators, six women have been identified as allegedly sexually exploited by the organized crime group.
“The four suspects … appear to have formed an organized crime group with the aim of recruiting, harboring and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content to be viewed on specialized websites for a fee,” they said prosecutors.
“They would have won important sums of money.”
Earlier this week, the British citizen was asked to do so get a life by climate activist Greta Thunberg on Twitter after telling her he owns 33 cars with “huge emissions”.
Portal contributed to this report