Police in Romania have carried out raids on seven more homes as part of their investigation into social media influencer Andrew Tate.
Officers from Romania’s anti-organized crime agency said they had conducted searches of properties in the counties of Bucharest, Ilfov, and Prahova “in order to obtain further evidence”.
Tate, 36, was arrested on 29 December in Romania’s capital, Bucharest, on charges of being part of an organised crime group, human trafficking, and rape.
His brother Tristan and two Romanian women were also arrested.
On Tuesday, a court upheld a judge’s ruling to extend their arrest from 24 hours to 30 days.
A document explaining the judge’s motivation for the extension said “the possibility of them evading investigations cannot be ignored” and there was a risk that they could “leave Romania and settle in countries that do not allow extradition”.
The latest searches come after Tate, a British-US citizen, lost a second appeal in which he challenged the seizure of property during initial police raids of his home in December.
The assets include properties, land, and a fleet of luxury cars.
More than 10 properties and land owned by companies registered to the Tate brothers have been seized so far.
After the raids in December, Romania’s anti-organised crime agency DIICOT said it had identified six victims in the case who were subjected by the group to “acts of physical violence and mental coercion” and were sexually exploited by group members.
The agency said victims were lured under the pretence of a romantic relationship, then later, through physical violence and mental intimidation, forced to perform pornographic acts for social media sites which generated large financial gains.
Tate, a former professional kickboxer who has reportedly lived in Romania since 2017, was previously banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech. (SkyNews)
