South Africa: Controversial Anti-Women Social Media Influencer Andrew Tate Has Not Been Released From Detention in Romania

12 January 2023
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Taryn Khourie

IN SHORT: The arrest of Andrew Tate in Romania on allegations of human trafficking made headlines in December 2022. Despite persistent social media rumours, he, his brother and two others are still in detention at time of writing, and have not been released by Romanian authorities.

"Andrew and his brother Tristian Tate have been released," starts a Facebook post doing the rounds on the social media platform in South Africa.

Andrew Tate, a social media influencer and ex-kickboxer known for hate speech and misogyny, or hatred of women, was arrested in December 2022 for "alleged human trafficking and formation of an organised crime group to exploit six women," as reported by Euro News.

Tate was detained with three other people, including his brother Tristan Tate. They were detained after Andrew Tate's house was raided in Bucharest, the capital of southeastern European country Romania.

The post continues: "Romanian officials have confirmed that Andrew Tate wasn't arrested on human trafficking charges, however he is being questioned for money laundering but the fake media said they were arrested for sexual assault and human trafficking just to tarnish their image!"

Several other posts on social media have made similar claims, one saying that Tate was arrested for "money laundering not human trafficking, he was cleared on that months ago".

But were the Tate brothers released by Romanian authorities in early January 2023? We checked.

Detention appeal denied by court - in jail for 30 days

On 10 January, the Tate brothers appeared in court in Romania asking to be set free from detention, reported Sky News.

This comes after it was reported by the Associated Press that a judge had extended their arrest period from 24 hours to 30 days.

But a Romanian court rejected the 10 January appeal by the Tate brothers, so the group will be held in detention for 30 days.

The judge said that because of the brothers' wealth, there was a possibility that they might leave Romania for countries that did not allow extradition.

At time of writing, Andrew and Tristian Tate have not been released by Romanian authorities.

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