Influencer Andrew Tate to face human trafficking charges

The influencer Andrew Tate, and his brother Tristan Tate, will face 21 criminal charges in the UK, including for human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain, prosecutors have confirmed for the first time. Other charges include rape and actual bodily harm.

The brothers, born in the US and raised in Luton, were arrested in Romania in December 2022. They spent months under house arrest and, in August 2024, were charged with new offences there, including sex with a minor and trafficking underage persons.

The Crown Prosecution Service said it authorised the charges in 2024, based on a file of evidence from Bedfordshire Police. The charges predate an extradition warrant issued to return the brothers from Romania, where they are also under investigation.

A Romanian court has already approved the extradition request, following the conclusion of proceedings in Romania, although this is unlikely to be any time soon, given the complexity of proceedings. “The domestic criminal matters in Romania must be settled first,” the CPS said.

Tate is well-known for his influence on social media, particularly on teenage boys and young men. He is a self-proclaimed ‘misogynist’. A recent poll by the teaching union NASUWT found that a number of teachers were highly concerned about his impact.

One teacher said: "I have had boys refuse to speak to me and speak to a male teaching assistant instead because I am a woman and they follow Andrew Tate and think he is amazing with all his cars and women...These were 10-year-olds.”

Another wrote: "In a secondary English class last year, a group of boys opted, despite discouragement, to write a persuasive essay on why Andrew Tate is the GOAT (greatest of all time) which included praise of his view that women are a man's property...all of the parents were contacted and were appalled."

Tate and his brother deny any wrongdoing.