Andrew Tate to stand trial in Romania for human trafficking

Prosecutors in Romania have sent controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate, his brother Tristan and two other suspects to trial on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.

The Tate brothers and two Romanian female suspects are under house arrest pending a criminal investigation into alleged abuses against seven women, accusations they have denied.

The four were held in police custody from December 29 until March 31 before a Bucharest court put them under house arrest.

Andrew Tate has also been charged with raping one of the victims, while his brother Tristan has been charged with instigating others to violence.

The trial will not start immediately.

Under Romanian law, the case gets sent to the court's preliminary chamber, where a judge has 60 days to inspect the case files to ensure legality.

The Tate brothers, former kickboxers who have US and British nationality with millions of online followers, are the highest profile suspects to be sent to trial in Romania for human trafficking.

Prosecutors have said the Tate brothers recruited their victims by seducing them and falsely claiming to want a relationship or marriage.

Andrew Tate detained in Romania — in pictures

Police officers escort Andrew Tate to the Court of Appeal in Bucharest, Romania. AP
Tate, the divisive influencer and former professional kickboxer, was detained on suspicion of being involved in organised crime and human trafficking. AP
The British-American, who has 4.7 million followers on Twitter, was also accused of rape. Reuters
Tate, his brother Tristan and two women are escorted by officers into the Court of Appeal in Bucharest. EPA
Tate rose to notoriety in 2016 when he was removed from reality TV show Big Brother over a video that appeared to show him hitting a woman with a belt. Reuters
On a podcast last year, he said he started making money when he lived in London by convincing girlfriends to videochat and share the profits. AP
A police officer looks on as a luxury vehicle is seized on the outskirts of Bucharest, in the case against Tate. AP
A car is pictured at 'The Hustlers University' site belonging to Tate in Bucharest. AFP
Romania said it had identified six victims in a human-trafficking case who had been subjected to 'acts of physical violence and mental coercion'. EPA

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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.

You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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