The influencer Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan Tate, were arrested by Romanian authorities on Monday on U.K. charges based on a tip that they had planned to flee Romania — information that was revealed on a Kick livestream by their friend and fellow “alpha male” streamer, Adin Ross, Rolling Stone has confirmed.
According to a legal representative for McCue Law, the firm representing four British women accusing Tate of rape and sexual assault, U.K. judicial authorities issued a warrant for their arrests and extradition on sexual abuse charges after “we were informed by one of our contacts that an associate of Tate (Adin Ross) had discussed Tate’s intention to flee during a video on the gaming and livestreaming platform Kick.”
In the clip viewed by Rolling Stone, Ross appears to be reading direct messages from Tate. “Andrew had hit me up. He said, ‘Hey, I’m gonna be leaving Romania soon and probably never coming back. If you want to come over and do a week of long streams and content before I leave, I think it’ll be big. And it’s never’ — I’m sorry, he said, ‘It’s basically now or never,'” he read.
Ross goes on to ask fans on his stream whether they would be interested in seeing content featuring him and Tate, saying, “Again, guys, it might be the last time we ever do this. So it’s kinda like, we gotta take advantage of it now. Because hey, it’s basically, it’s basically like that.”
A spokesperson for the Tates tells Rolling Stone, “we unequivocally deny any accusations that Andrew or Tristan Tate intends to abscond from Romania to evade the judicial proceedings,” saying that Ross “misconstrue[d] Andrew’s message to him.”
A rep for Ross did not immediately return a request for comment.
A highly controversial 23-year-old streamer from Florida, Ross was permanently banned from Twitch in February 2023 for promoting “hateful conduct” after posting uncensored racist and antisemitic comments from his fans. He has been a longtime defender of the brothers, proclaiming their innocence on social media following their 2022 Romania arrest and detainment on separate charges of rape, trafficking, and forming an organized group to exploit women. Prior to their Tuesday arrest, they were awaiting trial in Romania and had been ordered by judges not to flee the county and its surrounding area.
When reached for comment, a representative for Tate tells Rolling Stone that a Romanian court approved the request for extradition but postponed it until after the Romanian trial is over. “We appreciate the Bucharest Court of Appeal’s decision to postpone the extradition of Andrew and Tristan Tate,” Eugen Vidineac, counsel for the defendants, said in a statement. “This ruling provides an opportunity for the brothers to participate fully in their defense and for the legal process to proceed in a transparent manner.”
A spokesperson for the Tates also denied any accusations that Andrew or Tristan Tate intended to abscond from Romania to evade the judicial proceedings. “Our clients are fully committed to actively participating in the legal process and defending their reputation. We believe this rumor has originated from a popular online influencer who misconstrued a text message from our clients while streaming live. There is simply no truth to it.”
Tate is currently facing civil charges brought by four women in the United Kingdom who allege the former kickboxer and influencer sexually and physically assaulted them in 2014 and 2015. The charges were subject to a police investigation that was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service in 2019 due to lack of evidence.
According to McCue Law, the recent U.K. warrant stems from sexual abuse claims that are unrelated to the civil complaint. “As far as we understand it, these are new allegations against both Andrew and Tristan which relate to the same time period as our clients’ complaints,” a representative tells Rolling Stone.
