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

Online misogynist boasted about his cars in a tweet to Greta Thunberg that earned a viral rebuke

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.

Tate, who has been banned from a number of social media platforms for infringing rules, boasted about his car collection in a tweet targeting climate activist Greta Thunberg. Her unimpressed response went viral, garnering nearly four million likes and 300m views.

Ramona Bolla, of anti-organised crime agency Diicot, said four suspects, including Tate, will be held for 30 days after a judge lengthened their initial detention period of 24 hours. Ms Bolla noted the decision was not final and the suspects have the right to appeal.

The Independent previously reported on research by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) which unearthed 47 videos of Tate pushing what it describes as “extreme misogyny”.

The report unearthed ads on videos where Tate discusses fighting women, saying “grip her up by the neck” in a video, which has been viewed 1.6 million times, as well as referring to putting his “imprint” on 18-19 year-old girls in footage which has accrued 8.4 million views. While another video where he states, “being a man” means “being territorial” of women, has been viewed 3.3 million times.

Tate was kicked off the 17th season of Big Brother in 2016 after footage emerged of him appearing to hit a woman with a belt – with him responding to the video by saying the behaviour was consensual.

His Twitter was restored alongside that of former president Donald Trump and rapper Kanye West in the wake of Elon Musk gaining control of the social media site.

The Independent has contacted Romanian police for comment.