Internet personality Andrew Tate ordered to be put under house arrest

A Romanian court has ordered internet personality Andrew Tate to be placed under house arrest, his representative said on Thursday, after he was among six people taken into custody in an investigation into human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

A Romanian court has ordered internet personality Andrew Tate to be placed under house arrest, his representative said on Thursday, after he was among six people taken into custody in an investigation into human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

The former professional kickboxer and his brother Tristan were among six people detained on Wednesday for an initial 24 hours after Romania's anti-organized crime prosecuting unit DIICOT conducted four home searches in Ilfov county and the Bucharest municipality.

DIICOT asked the Bucharest court to arrest the Tate brothers for 30 days, but the judge decided to place Andrew Tate under house arrest and Tristan under judiciary control for that period, their representative Mateea Petrescu said.

"The Tates salute the decision and firmly deny all allegations leveled against them, emphasizing that the accusations are baseless and unsupported by substantial evidence," Petrescu wrote in a statement.

Tate was already indicted in mid-2023 along with his brother and two Romanian female suspects for human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, allegations they denied.

Before their latest detention the brothers had been subject to a travel ban, under which they were free to travel within Romania but not leave the country.

A self-described misogynist, social media influencer Tate has gained millions of fans by promoting an ultra-masculine lifestyle that critics say denigrates women.