Romanian authorities have seized money and assets worth about 5.2 million CAD belonging to online influencer Andrew Tate.
Romania’s National Agency for the Administration of Unavailable Assets said in a statement that it removed a total of 15 luxury cars, 14 designer watches, and cash in several currencies.
Tate, his brother Tristan, and two women are facing sex trafficking charges.
On Tuesday, all four lost an appeal after a court upheld a judge’s Dec. 30 move to extend their arrest from 24 hours to 30 days. A day later, Tate lost another appeal that challenged assets seized by prosecutors in the case so far.
“The four suspects … appear to have created an organized crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialized websites for a cost,” prosecutors said at the time. “They would have gained important sums of money.”
About a half-dozen masked law enforcement officers and other officials descended on the compound Saturday to take away the goods.
The fleet of automobiles included a blue Rolls-Royce, a Ferrari, a Porsche, a BMW, an Aston Martin, and a Mercedes-Benz.
Tate has been in Romanian custody since December 29, and Romanian courts rejected his challenge to his current 30-day arrest warrant, according to Reuters.
If prosecutors can prove they gained money through illicit activities including human trafficking, the assets could be used to cover the expenses of the investigation and compensation for victims, said Ramona Bolla, a DIICOT spokesperson.
DIICOT said it has identified six victims in the human trafficking case who were subjected to “acts of physical violence and mental coercion” and were sexually exploited by the members of the alleged crime group.
