The cars are being held to 'sustain' the cost of the investigation
Andrew Tate has lost a second appeal against Romanian prosecutors, this time against the seizure of a fleet of his luxury cars and other assets.
The Romanian Court of Appeal in Bucharest on Wednesday rejected the appeal made by the former kickboxer turned influencer, the
Associated Press reported.
Tate attempted to challenge authorities taking control of his assets while their enquiries into him and his brother, Tristan Tate, continue. Tate, Tristan, and two women were arrested on December 29, and are being investigated for human trafficking and forming an organised crime group.
Romanian police seized 11 cars from the Tate brothers after they were arrested as well as a number of buildings, including one where the pair lived and allegedly held six young women, according to a local news report.
A further four cars have been seized since then.
According to AP, the court found that "the seizures are legal and (that) the goods remain at our disposal".
The decision comes after a court earlier
rejected the Tate's brother appeal against a 30-day detention order.
Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romania's DIICOT investigations agency, told
Insider the cars were being held to "sustain the cost of the investigation".
She explained the cars could also be used as collateral to cover the cost of any payments granted to their alleged victims.
While the make and model of the vehicles has not been confirmed by officials, Romanian news outlet
Gândul claimed to have published photos of those that had been seized, including images of a Rolls-Royce Wraith from the Black Badge range, and an Aston Martin Vanquish S Ultimate.
Spy News reported a Buggati Chiron, a Rolls Royce, two Ferrari cars and a Porsche had also been seized by the police as part of the investigation.
Bolla said investigators are working to establish whether the Tate brothers bought the cars using money gained from human trafficking.
On Tuesday, a judge upheld the 30-day order as prosecutors are reportedly now considering increasing it from
30 days to 180.
On Monday, Tate’s lawyer, Eugen Vidineac, claimed there was “no evidence” to support the allegations against him and his brother.
The court, in Bucharest, heard arguments from Tate’s lawyer on Tuesday for their release, which included that the brothers have small children in Romania, according to local news outlet
Gandul.
Vidineac told Romanian news site
Gandul the defence had not been given the opportunity to study the prosecution file for the case and also claimed that Tate’s controversial online persona would not be valid evidence in a trial.
According to the
AP, the judge stated that the brothers are at risk of evading investigations and that they could “leave Romania and settle in countries that do not allow extradition.”
Tate and his brother have denied the accusations against them.
The brothers arrived at Bucharest’s Court of Appeal handcuffed to each other, and Andrew Tate was said to be carrying the Qur’an in his right hand.
Tate, who has been banned from a number of social media platforms, was arrested after entering the villa he was staying in with his brother.
Tate was kicked off the 17th season of Big Brother in 2016 after footage emerged of him appearing to hit a woman with a belt. He responded to the video, claiming the incident was consensual.
His Twitter was restored alongside that of former president Donald Trump and rapper Kanye West in the wake of Elon Musk taking over the platform in October.
Tate, a former Big Brother star, says
women belong in the home, can’t drive, and are a man’s property and schools young men online on toxicity as under the guise of being a self-help guru. His views have been described as extreme misogyny by domestic abuse charities, capable of radicalising men and boys to commit harm offline.
A overview of Tate's car collection can be seen
here.
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