TATES IN SPOTLIGHT
‘Operation Moonwalk’ rape probe into Andrew & Tristan Tate revealed by UK cops as brothers face extradition to Britain
Watch the moment Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested at their compound in Bucharest
BRITISH cops have revealed that Andrew and Tristan Tate are set to be extradited to Britain as part of an ongoing probe into allegations of rape and human trafficking.
The disgraced brothers were hauled back to court in Romania after a dramatic arrest last night as part of the UK's "Operation Moonwalk" investigation.
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Bedfordshire Police confirmed to The Sun they were working with Romanian authorities on their continued probe - but once proceedings end, the brothers can be extradited to the UK.
Self-proclaimed misogynists Andrew, 37, and Tristan, 35, were arrested in December 2022 on charges of human trafficking, rape and organised crime that date back to 2012 and 2015.
They are still awaiting trial a year later - and deny all charges against them.
Bedfordshire Police said: "As part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of rape and human trafficking, Bedfordshire Police has obtained a European arrest warrant for two men in their 30s.
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"We are working with authorities in Romania as part of this investigation and will provide an update in due course."
It also comes hours after four of Andrew's accusers in the UK demanded officers swoop, while claiming the former Big Brother contestant was planning to flee the country.
Dozens of Romanian police stormed their £600,000 villa outside of Bucharest last night - detaining them under a new UK warrant.
The Tates were then hauled back to court today where they faced an extradition hearing.
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Hours after their appearance, Bedfordshire Police put out a statement confirming the arrests as part of "Operation Moonwalk".
The force added: "We understand this is a distressing subject, and people may be impacted by what they are seeing in the news.
"Bedfordshire Police takes all reports of sexual offences seriously, and further support is available via our website or by calling 101.
"Anyone with information about this specific investigation should call 101, and quote Operation Moonwalk."
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The brothers were detained for 24 hours pending a ruling on the British arrest warrant.
They "categorically reject" all new charges - and have since been released from custody.
Eugen Vidineac, a lawyer representing the Tates, said: "This ruling provides an opportunity for the brothers to participate fully in their defence and for the legal process to proceed in a transparent manner."
He also denied any allegations that Andrew had been planning to flee the country.
After last night's arrest, former kickboxer Tate put out a bizarre and cryptic tweet, writing "The Matrix if afraid, but I only fear God."
Tate's spokesman originally claimed the influencer was arrested as part of a UK investigation which dated back to 2012.
He also alleged the charges had originally been dismissed by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Speaking a reporter this evening, the smiling Tate brothers declared they were "very happy" about today's proceedings.
"A Romanian judge saved us," Tristan claimed, referring to the judge's ruling that the brothers could be extradited to the UK after the Romanian proceedings end.
He then fumed: "The United Kingdom have now accused me of doing something 12 years ago for the Romanians to keep me here until my trial."
Chiming in after his brother's remarks, Andrew bizarrely accused the UK of attempting to "weaponise Romanian courts" and claimed that it had "failed".
Their new arrest
Following their initial arrest in December last year, the Tate brothers were banned from leaving Romania.
They were originally held in jail before being released to house arrest and then "judicial control" - which limits their freedom.
Four women in the UK threatened Tate with a lawsuit last June, accusing him of "violent rapes, serious physical assault, and controlling and coercive behaviour".
Lawyers representing those women today also revealed they had contacted British cops - claiming Tate was planning to flee Romania.
Matthew Jury, managing partner at the law firm representing Tate's accusers, said today: "Today's news is very welcome as it has been a significant concern to many that Tate would seek to avoid justice in Romania and abroad.
"We are grateful to British authorities for taking our concerns seriously and issuing an arrest warrant."
Now in their late twenties and early thirties, the women said these assaults took place in the 2010s when Andrew lived in the UK.
It is not clear whether the allegations of sexual assault made by the women last year are connected to the Bedfordshire Police investigation.
Who is Andrew Tate?
ANDREW Tate is an influencer and former kickboxer who once briefly appeared on Big Brother.
He was born on December 1, 1986, in Washington, D.C. and spent time in Chicago and Indiana as a child before moving to England.
Tate began practising kickboxing in 2005 but became a public figure when he entered the Big Brother house as a contestant during the show's run on Channel 5.
Since appearing on the reality series, Tate began gaining millions of followers by styling himself as "the king of toxic masculinity".
He caused outrage in September in 2017 when he said that depression was not a real disease.
Later that year, he shockingly claimed women should bear "some responsibility" for being raped, following the allegations made against disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
Tate has several other business ventures, including Hustler University and a string of casinos he owns with his brother Tristan.
Tate was charged with human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group to sexually exploit women by a Romanian court on June 20, 2023.
His brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects were also formally charged.
In August 2023 Tate won an appeal to be released from house arrest in Romania.
As of March 2024, he, his brother Tristan, and the two female suspects are still awaiting trial.
The ongoing investigation
Andrew and Tristan were charged by police in June as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation.
They have been accused of recruiting women on social media platforms and getting them to visit their villa on the outskirts of Bucharest.
Both men are alleged to have pretended to fall in love with the women before getting them to work for their business and making them perform sexual acts on webcams.
Andrew and Tristan have both denied the allegations of trafficking and rape.
Just months ago they made another bid to return to the UK to visit their sick mum after she suffered a heart attack.
Andrew, 37, and Tristan, 35, tried to request an "emergency visit" to the UK - but were shot down.
Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, saying that he is a victim of something called The Matrix.
Controversial figure Tate has previously sparked outrage around the world over claims he's made on social media.
And later that year, he also claimed women should bear "some responsibility" for being raped, following the allegations made against disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
He has been removed from X, formerly known as Twitter, on several occasions and in January last year, the social media site said an account he'd created on the platform was "verified in error".
As of November, he is also banned from YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.
Tate runs his own online network called "The War Room" which has been described as an "exclusive online network for men".
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Andrew and Tate previously won an appeal to be released from house arrest in Romania in August last year.
The ruling meant Tate, his brother Tristan and suspects Georgiana Naghel and Luana Radu could leave the house, but not the capital and the surrounding Ilfov county.
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