Andrew Tate will remain under house arrest for another 30 days

Controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate has been ordered to remain under house arrest in Romania for another 30 days after being charged with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, a Bucharest court ruled today.

Andrew, 36, and his brother Tristan Tate, 34, who are both dual UK-US nationals, have been at the centre of a lengthy investigation following claims they exploited women for profit.

Earlier this week both men appeared before a judge in the Romanian capital Bucharest where they live, and as he entered court Andrew told MailOnline he ‘believed in God and justice’.

Both deny the charges against them with Andrew, who grew up in Luton, Bedfordshire, insisting the charges are ‘trumped up and part of a conspiracy by the Matrix to target rich, influential men’.

Two women – Luana Radu and Georgiana Nagel – have also been jointly charged with the Tate brothers and they appeared in court alongside them on Wednesday for the 90-minute hearing.

Ahead of the court’s decision on Friday, Andrew posted on his Twitter a dig at diplomats for failing to help him and said: ‘If I was a transsexual the USA embassy would have instantly taken me out of jail and harshly condemned Romania for being transphobic.’

It had been feared that a lightning strike by judges over pensions would delay their appearance, but the case went ahead after it was decided it was of ‘top level priority’.

In their ruling the court said:’ All four defendants will remain under house arrest until further checks but for no longer than 30 days.’

A prosecution source told MailOnline:’ The judge checked the legality and the reliability of the house arrest and decided it was legal.’

After the ruling self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew posted a picture of himself on his Twitter showing him in boxing gloves with the caption:’Pain and suffering for breakfast.’

The brothers were indicted earlier this week by prosecutors in the Romanian capital of Bucharest where they both now live and have been under investigation since last year.

As part of the probe Romania’s DIICOT investigators ordered the seizure of assets from the brother including 15 high value cars, 14 luxury watches and around £440,000 in cryptocurrency.

The brothers live in a high security gated compound in Bucharest and are said to have a £10 million fortune which officials believe to includes money made after forcing women to make sexually explicit videos.

When MailOnline visited the compound on the outskirts of the city, two thick set security guards dressed in black opened the door and said the brothers were ‘unavailable’ and asked us to leave.

Andrew was previously banned from a string of social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech.

The DIICOT law enforcement agency in Romania said in a statement after the brothers’ December arrests it had identified victims in the human trafficking case who were allegedly subjected to ‘acts of physical violence and mental coercion’ and sexually exploited by members of the group.

The agency alleged victims were lured with pretenses of ‘love’ and later intimidated, which it dubbed ‘the loverboy method’.

It added: ‘The four defendants instituted a criminal group organised on the territory of Romania but also in other countries such as the United States and Great Britain.’

DIICOT alleged the seven victims it has identified were placed under surveillance and subjected to other control tactics while being coerced into engaging in pornographic acts for the financial gain of the group.

The women are one American and six Romanians whose identities have not been revealed and they are said to be in protective custody.

In April, the Tate brothers won a tribunal appeal to be moved from police custody to house arrest while prosecutors continued to carry out their investigation.

A judge approved their release following four separate rulings to extend the Tate brothers’ stay in prison after they were initially detained in December.

The also extended to the two women who were released into house arrest alongside the brothers.

All four were ordered to stay in the buildings where they live, unless given judicial permission to leave and if convicted they face up to 13 years in jail.

Commenting on the decision Andrew wrote on Twitter: ‘After 176 days of imprisonment, both in the dungeron and in my home – the legal limit of holding a man without charge expired.

‘They instantly charged me – and asked the judge to extend house arrest. The judge has agreed this morning.

‘I remain locked in my house. I have not been free since December of last year.’

While in another rant minutes later he added:’ Imagine that I was held until the absolute limit of jail conditions without charge, down to the last few hours.

‘If they had a case, why wait so long. Then charged last second with who knows what – and all of the arrest conditions extended indefinitely. Forever jail.’

Earlier this month, a fourth British woman claimed she she was victim of sexual assault by the influencer, alleging the he choked her until she lost consciousness.

The 30-year-old has joined a civil claim for damages against Tate, after three other women said in April that they intended to begin proceedings.

A dual citizen of the United States and Britain, former kickboxer Andrew Tate moved to Romania years ago, after first starting a webcam business in the UK.

In 2016, Tate appeared on the ‘Big Brother’ reality television show in Britain but was removed after a video emerged showing him attacking a woman.

He then turned to social media platforms to promote his divisive views. He currently has 6.9 million followers on Twitter.

Giving tips on how to be successful, along with misogynistic and sometimes violent maxims, his videos have made him one of the world’s best-known influencers.

‘I am absolutely sexist, and I’m absolutely a misogynist,’ Tate said in a 2021 interview.

Last week, a British law firm served Andrew Tate with legal papers with four women threatening him with a lawsuit in the English courts over allegations of sexual assault.

A statement from the law firm described the women’s allegations ‘including violent rapes, serious physical assault, and controlling and coercive behaviour.’