Romanian police have raided seven other homes as part of their investigation into social media influencer Andrew Tate.
Agents from Romania’s Organized Crime Agency said they carried out searches of properties in Bucharest, Ilfov and Prahova counties “in order to obtain additional evidence”.
Tate, 36, was arrested on December 29 in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, on charges of being part of an organized criminal group, human trafficking and rape.
His brother Tristan and two Romanian women were also arrested.
Tuesday, a court upheld a judge’s decision to extend their arrest from 24 hours to 30 days.
A document explaining the judge’s motivation for the extension said that “the possibility that they evade investigations cannot be ignored” and that there was a risk that they could “leave Romania and settle in countries that do not allow extradition”.
The latest searches come after Tate, a British-American citizen, lost a second appeal in which he challenged the seizure of property during initial police raids on his home in December.
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Assets include properties, land and a fleet of luxury cars.
More than 10 properties and land belonging to companies registered with the Tate brothers have been seized so far.
After the December raids, Romania’s organized crime agency DIICOT said it identified six victims in the case who were subjected by the group to “acts of physical violence and mental coercion” and were exploited sexually by members of the group.
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The agency said the victims were lured under the pretense of a romantic relationship, then later through physical abuse and mental intimidation, forced to perform pornographic acts for social media sites that generated significant financial gains.
Tate, a former professional kickboxer who has reportedly lived in Romania since 2017, has previously been banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech.
