Friday, December 20, 2024 - An appeals court in Romania ruled on Thursday that the human trafficking case against influencer Andrew Tate, his brother, and two Romanian women cannot go to trial because of multiple legal and procedural irregularities on the part of the prosecutors.
The ruling comes two years after Andrew Tate, 38, and his brother
Tristian Tate, 36, were arrested, along with the two women. The four are
accused of human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually
exploit women, and Andrew also faces an additional rape charge.
The decision by the Bucharest Court of Appeal is a huge setback for
Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, but it does not mean the Tates
and the two women would walk free as the case has not been closed, and there is
also a separate legal case against the brothers in Romania.
The court effectively returned the case to the prosecutors, who can now
bring forth new evidence to back up their charges, or amend and change the
existing ones. In November, the same court gave prosecutors five days to
amend their case file or withdraw it.
The request for the appeals court to review the case was made by Tate's
defense team.
His spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, said the court's decision “confirms
the lack of credible evidence or consistency in the accusations” by the
prosecutors.
“The 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,” she said.
Romanian prosecutors last year formally indicted the Tate brothers
and the two Romanian women, and earlier this year, the Bucharest Tribunal
ruled that a trial could start but did not set a date. All four deny the
allegation against them.
After Thursday's ruling, Andrew Tate said prosecutors “had years to
build their case” and to “tear apart my life … and yet, they have nothing.”
“They threw me in jail, took my money, my cars, and every ounce of my
freedom. They made me the biggest enemy on the streets, dragging my name
through the dirt with accusations of the lowest, most vile deeds a man can be
accused of,” he said.
“But I never broke,” he added.
In its November ruling, the appeals court ordered some evidence removed,
including witness statements by two alleged victims and statements by the Tate
brothers, deeming them inadmissible.
The same court also said it had identified multiple flaws in the
prosecutors’ case, which had failed to adequately explain the charges against
Andrew to one alleged female victim who is part of the case, and that the
charges against the two female suspects were not properly presented.
Also, the indictment failed to specify the amounts related to the
confiscation of assets in the case, it said.
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.”
“This decision is a testament to the strength of our legal system and
the integrity of its judges,” Vidineac said. “Let this serve as a warning to
those who seek to weaponize falsehoods: Andrew and Tristan Tate will not be
silenced, and neither will the truth.”
Meanwhile, a British court ruled on Wednesday that in a separate
case against the Tate brothers, police can seize more than 2.6 million
pounds ($3.3 million) to cover years of unpaid taxes from the pair.
Andrew Tate accused the U.K. government of “outright theft” for freezing
his accounts and said it was “a coordinated attack on anyone who dares to
challenge the system.”
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