Controversial online influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have been detained in the United States after British prosecutors announced a fresh series of criminal charges against them.
The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Andrew Tate faces seven additional counts of rape, alongside further allegations involving offences including sex trafficking and child pornography.
Tristan Tate has been charged with two counts of rape, one count of sexual assault and three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation.
The alleged offences are said to have occurred between July 2010 and August 2017. Both brothers have previously denied any wrongdoing.
“These charging decisions followed receipt of a further file of evidence from Bedfordshire Police and bring the total number of alleged victims in this case to seven,” Malcolm McHaffie, Head of the Special Crime Division at the Crown Prosecution Service, said.
The US Marshals confirmed to the BBC that the brothers had been taken into custody. A spokesperson for the US Department of Justice said the arrests were made “pursuant to extradition proceedings”.
The CPS said it had formally requested the extradition of Andrew and Tristan Tate, who both hold British and US citizenship, so they can face legal proceedings in the UK.
Joseph McBride, a lawyer representing the brothers, defended them in a statement issued following their arrests on Saturday evening, saying “the world knows Andrew and Tristan are innocent”.
“Their enemies know it best of all. That is exactly why they have been attacked,” McBride continued, describing the latest British charges as a “political hit”.
He claimed the charges had been brought in response to a defamation lawsuit filed by the brothers in the United States.
“We are confident that once a competent judge sees the facts, and once the Department of Justice confronts this egregious abuse of its own authority, Andrew and Tristan Tate will walk free. America does not do Britain’s political dirty work,” he continued.
British prosecutors confirmed in May 2025 that Andrew Tate, 39, and Tristan Tate, 37, would eventually face a combined total of 21 charges in the UK. Those alleged offences are said to have taken place between 2012 and 2016.
Bedfordshire Police secured European arrest warrants for the brothers in 2024, seeking their return from Romania, where they are based and remain subject to a separate criminal investigation.
In June, the brothers lost a legal attempt to obtain the identities of their UK accusers. The CPS had determined that the alleged victims’ names should remain confidential until formal legal proceedings began.
