Lawyer says Tate brothers will return to U.K. to face rape and trafficking charges

Andrew Tate, left, and his brother Tristan arrive at the Bucharest Tribunal in Bucharest, Romania, Feb. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

LONDON — Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate will return to Britain to defend themselves against rape, trafficking and other charges, their lawyers said Thursday.

Prosecutors authorized charges in January 2024 against the Tates, dual U.S. and British citizens who moved to Romania in 2016. But the Crown Prosecution Service did not announce the charges involving several women until Wednesday.

Lawyers said the brothers, who are currently facing charges in Romania, are at a disadvantage because British prosecutors have not shared any information with them about the charges.

“These are historic allegations and our clients are not even being told who the supposed victims are,” the Holborn Adams law firm said in a statement. “This ... demonstrates a different approach on the basis of the profile of our clients.”

The former professional kickboxers have millions of followers on social media. Andrew has drawn a much larger following with self-professed misogyny that has drawn boys and young men to the luxurious lifestyle he projects.

Andrew Tate, 38, faces 10 charges related to three women that include rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain, prosecutors said. Tristan Tate, 36, faces 11 charges related to one woman that include rape, human trafficking and actual bodily harm.

The allegations from Bedfordshire, a county north of London where the brothers grew up, date back to between 2012 to 2015.

The Tates were arrested in Romania in late 2022 and formally indicted last year on charges that they participated in a criminal ring there that lured women who were allegedly sexually exploited. Andrew Tate was also charged with rape.

The siblings have denied all the allegations in Romania, and an appeals court there said in December that a human trafficking case could not proceed because of legal and procedural irregularities.

Romanian courts have issued an order to extradite the two to the U.K. once their court case is concluded in there, British prosecutors said.

Lawyers for the Tates said they may have information that could undermine the allegations, but police and prosecutors won’t speak with them.

They said the Tates would return to England when their cases in Romania conclude, and that they will be aggressively defended.

Brian Melley, The Associated Press