Andrew Tate‘s houses have been searched by Romanian police as authorities investigate new allegations into the misogynistic influencer.
The 37-year-old is already awaiting trial on allegations of rape and human trafficking. But prosecutors have said he could now face additional charges of sex with, and trafficking in, underage persons, as well as money-laundering and attempting to influence witnesses.
He and his brother Tristan were first detained in Romania in December 2022, then released from house arrest in August 2023.
His brother Tristan was charged with human trafficking and of constituting an organised crime group, along with two female Romanian associates.
They deny the charges agains them.
On Wednesday morning (August 21), officers conducted a raid at the residence of the Tate brothers as part of a search related to a new investigation, prosecutors said in a statement.
According to DIICOT, the special prosecution service of the Romanian Organised Crime Directorate, four houses were searched in the capital, Bucharest, and in Ilfov county.
The BBC reports that the new investigation relates to Andrew Tate is has been going on for some time.
Tate has developed a huge online presence in recent years through his controversial and often misogynistic views, which have previously seen him banned from social media platforms
The Tate brothers, former kickboxers who are dual UK-US nationals, are accused of operating a criminal group which exploited women via an adult content business.
They were initially arrested in December and spent several months in prison before being placed under house arrest.
After seven months, the Tates were released from house arrest and placed under judicial control.
In March this year, the brothers were detained in Romania after European arrest warrants were issued by the UK. The arrest warrants relate to allegations, including sexual aggression, from 2012 to 2015, his team said.
Tate made headlines in 2016 when he was removed from British TV show Big Brother over a video which appeared to show him attacking a woman.
Tate has gained notoriety in recent years because of his inflammatory and misogynistic views on women.
This includes videos where he has said that women should “shut the f**k up, have kids, sit at home, be quiet and make coffee,” that women are men’s “property” and that “18-year-old women are “more attractive than 25-year-olds because they’ve been through less d***.”
He has even gone as far to say that rape victims should “bear responsibility” for their attacks.
In 2022, he was banned from YouTube, Facebook and Instagram for breaching the platforms’ rules on hate speech.
