Romania Seeks Assets Including $560K Bitcoin in Rape Case

• Romania formally charged Andrew Tate on Tuesday, on counts of rape and human trafficking.
• Officials asked to seize 15 properties, 15 luxury cars, 14 watches and bitcoin worth $560,000.
• Tate has been under house arrest since March.

Romanian prosecutors asked to seize 15 properties, 15 luxury cars, 14 watches and bitcoin worth $560,000 from Andrew Tate as part of indictment on rape charges.

Romania’s Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism announced Tuesday that Tate had been charged with rape and human trafficking, per a press release.

The announcement moved forward the case which burst into view in late last year with Tate’s arrest.

Tate, a social media influencer best known for his misogynistic messaging, was arrested in December and placed in a Romanian jail while DIICOT investigated human-trafficking and sexual assault allegations against him. He has been under house arrest since March.

The indictment includes Tate, his brother Tristan Tate, and two associates, all of whom face the same charges. The indictment also names seven victims who were recruited through the “loverboy method,” the BBC reported — using promises of love and marriage to manipulate women into sex work.

Tate’s assets that DIICOT has asked to seize includes just over 21 bitcoin, which per Insider’s figures has a current worth of $562,050, a DIICOT spokesperson confirmed to Insider.

Some auto-translate software, including Google Translate, erroneously suggested that a much larger amount worth $384 million had been seized, due to an error in intepreting the original Romanian.

The BBC reported that the trial is expected to last several years, and a Romanian judge has 60 days to view all the evidence before then. 

Tate’s spokesperson told the BBC: “We embrace the opportunity it presents to demonstrate their innocence.”