Andrew Tate – latest: Romanian police seize influencer’s cars flaunted on Instagram

Romanian authorities have seized a collection of cars belonging to misogynistic social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan.

It comes days after the 36-year-old self-avowed “success coach” was arrested as part of a human trafficking investigation.

Tate, who once appeared briefly on Big Brother, has referred to married women as “property” that their husbands own.

In footage where Tate talks about feminism, the former kickboxer claims women should “shut the f*** up, have kids, sit at home, be quiet and make coffee”.

Romanian authorities seized the car collection, estimated to be worth over five million euros, as well a number of buildings including one where the brothers lived and allegedly held six young women, according to a local news report.

A Buggati Chiron, a Rolls Royce, two Ferraris and a Porsche were seized, according to Romanian outlet Spy News.

Key Points

• Romanian authorities seize Andrew Tate’s car collection

• Andrew Tate detention extended by 30 days

• Controversial influencer arrested on rape and human trafficking offences

All the Twitter accounts Elon Musk has unbanned

15:30

Watch: Logan Paul calls out Andrew Tate for 'dangerous' rhetoric

14:51 , Thomas Kingsley

Other social media personalities have not warmed to Andrew Tate’s controversial rhetoric.

YouTuber Logan Pauls calls Tate’s comments about women and relationships “dangerous.”

Watch the full clip below.

Watch: The moment Andrew Tate is arrested

14:23 , Thomas Kingsley

ICYMI: Journalist ‘harassed’ by Andrew Tate saw influencer aggressively bang on his door

13:45 , Thomas Kingsley

A journalist who claims he was harassed by Andrew Tate said the influencer “aggressively” banged on his door after Tommy Robinson exposed the reporter’s address online.

Former kickboxer Tate was arrested on Friday alongside his brother Tristan and two other suspects, while his house was raided in the Romanian capital, Bucharest. Prosecutors said they had found six women who had been sexually exploited by the suspects.

Tate, who has been banned from many social media platforms for misogynistic comments and hate speech, will be detained for 30 more days while police continue to investigate. The pair have been under investigation since April alongside two Romanian nationals, the authorities say.

Read the full story below:

Journalist ‘harassed’ by Andrew Tate saw influencer aggressively bang on his door

Julia Hartley-Brewer, Andrew Tate, Jeremy Clarkson: In 2023, let’s end the curse of the ‘anti-woke’ bigots

13:00 , Thomas Kingsley

2022 was the year of “anti-woke.” This was the year that saw Elon Musk spend $44Bn on Twitter to defeat “the woke mind virus”, the year of Florida’s “Stop Woke Act”, of the American right siding with Putin over Ukraine because of his “anti-woke” credentials (read, overt homophobia).

Woke is in the daily lexicon of both MPs and the press, writes Phil McDuff

Famous bow-tie wearer Tim Stanley accused the literal Conservative Party of going woke in the Telegraph. Education is woke, bikes are woke, the Church of England is woke, seeing a black Santa is woke. It’s hard to find things that someone hasn’t called “woke” this year.

Read the full piece here

Voices | This is what Andrew Tate’s arrest means for Muslim women like me

12:11 , Thomas Kingsley

Is it him? That shiny bald head, manicured beard, and gradient “I’m a celebrity” sunglasses are unmistakeable, writes Hafsa Lodi. A four-minute clip of Andrew Tate, a controversial figure who is known for making vulgar and inflammatory statements about women, has infiltrated the intimate boundaries of my smartphone through a forwarded WhatsApp video.

Prior to this, I’ve actively avoided researching or discussing Tate, despite his notoriety on social media – I’d hate to give any more airtime to the self-proclaimed misogynist who is already one of the most frequently googled people on the internet.

But this time I give in, and a quick search leads me to the original video, posted on YouTube a year ago by a “male self-improvement” podcast that hosts “Womanizer Wednesdays”. In the three-hour interview, Tate spews some twisted and simplistic statements about Islam in his apparent attempt to praise the religion.

Read the full Voices piece below:

Opinion: This is what Andrew Tate’s arrest means for Muslim women like me

How did Andrew Tate make his money? All you need to know about the influencer arrested in Romania

11:33 , Thomas Kingsley

Andrew Tate is no stranger to controversy.

The former kickboxer and social media influencer, who has gained notoriety over the years for peddling misogynistic views, was detained in Romania on Thursday 29 December on suspicion of human trafficking, rape, and forming an organised crime group, prosecutors said.

Tate was born in the US but came to live in Britain when he was four years old.

He is also the founder of Hustler’s University, an online “academy” where members pay a monthly membership fee in exchange for advice on how to make a passive income from several online industries.

Read the full story below:

How did Andrew Tate make his money?

Tate shows off some of his luxury cars on social media

11:00 , Thomas Kingsley

A Buggati Chiron, a Rolls Royce, two Ferraris and a Porsche were seized, according to reports.

The controversial influencer was known to flaunt his luxurious lifestyle on his Instagram and Twitter, with his cars featuring frequently.

Voices | I’ve seen behind the curtain of men like Andrew Tate – and I believe I know how to beat him

10:30 , Thomas Kingsley

News of Andrew Tate’s arrest has been met with relief by many hoping this will bring an end to his relevance, writes Sufyan Ahmed. However, in my view (and experience) the damage is done. Tate’s views, amplified by social media, has already led to huge numbers of young men from my generation being manipulated, and without urgent intervention we may end up with a lost generation of young men. Let me tell you what I’ve seen.

There is no denying the immense reach Tate achieved. He was the most Googled man over the summer of 2022. Videos with his hashtag have amassed 13 billion views on TikTok. His mentoring scheme currently has 160,000 paying subscribers.

Read the full voices piece here

Elon Musk taunts Andrew Tate after tweet blaming ‘The Matrix’ for trafficking arrest

09:49 , Thomas Kingsley

Elon Musk has taunted influencer Andrew Tate after tweets from his social media account blamed “The Matrix” for his arrest in Romania.

One tweet from Tate’s account seemed to respond to the arrest, saying: “The Matrix sent their agents”. Another said: “The Matrix will only tell you what The Matrix needs you to believe.”

In apparent response to these, Twitter CEO Elon Musk posted a meme with the words: “What if I told you the only way to escape The Matrix is to unlearn everything that you have been taught and rebuild your entire belief system based on critical thought and analysis.”

Read the full story below:

Elon Musk taunts Andrew Tate after tweet blaming ‘The Matrix’ for trafficking arrest

Who is Tristan Tate? All we know about Andrew Tate’s brother arrested in human trafficking raid

08:36 , Thomas Kingsley

When influencer Andrew Tate was arrested in Romania during a police raid, he was detained alongside three other people - one of them, his brother.

Tristan Tate, who is also a former kickboxer turned social media influencer, was detained in December as part of an investigation into human trafficking and rape by Romania’s anti-organised crime agency Didcot.

The four suspects, including the Tate brothers, will be held for 30 days after a judge extended their initial detention period of 24 hours, said Didcot spokesperson Ramona Bolla. Prosecutors say they found six women who had been sexually exploited by the suspects.

Read the full story below:

All we know about Tristan Tate after arrest with brother Andrew in trafficking raid

Andrew Tate detention extended by 30 days

08:27 , Thomas Kingsley

Andrew Tate will be detained in prison for 30 days while police investigate human trafficking and rape allegations.

The former kickboxer was held alongside his brother Tristan and two other suspects while his house was raided in the capital, Bucharest.

Prosecutors said they had found six women who had been sexually exploited by the suspects.

Read the full story here.

08:26 , Thomas Kingsley

Romanian authorities have seized a collection of cars belonging to misogynistic social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan.

It comes days after the 36-year-old self-avowed “success coach” was arrested as part of a human trafficking investigation.

Tate, who once appeared briefly on Big Brother, has referred to married women as “property” that their husbands own.

A Buggati Chiron, a Rolls Royce, two Ferraris and a Porsche were seized, according to reports.

Prior to his arrest, Tate boasted to climate activist Greta Thunberg about his wide spanning car collection to which the 19-year-old hit back claiming he had “small d*** energy”.

Read the full story below:

Romanian authorities seize Andrew Tate’s car collection as investigation continues

Welcome

08:24 , Thomas Kingsley

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the Andrew Tate arrest. Follow this blog for all the latest from the controversial influencer.