Andrew Tate has had a number of his luxury cars seized just a few days after he boasted to Greta Thunberg about his collection of vehicles.
It would have been hard to miss the exchange between Tate and Thunberg which took place towards the end of 2022 - especially since Tate was arrested shortly afterwards.
The controversial influencer is now being held in Romania after being arrested, along with his brother Tristan, as part of an investigation into human trafficking, rape and organised crime.
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But before all of that took place, Tate taunted climate change activist Thunberg in a tweet referencing his 33 cars.
“Hello Greta Thunberg," he began. "I have 33 cars. My Bugatti has a w16 8.0L quad turbo. My TWO Ferrari 812 competizione have 6.5L v12s. This is just the start. Please provide your email address so I can send a complete list of my car collection and their respective enormous emissions.”
Thunberg obliged in providing Tate with an email address, but was widely celebrated for the burn she managed to include as she did so, writing: "Yes, please do enlighten me. Email me at smalld*[email protected]."
Tate was arrested just two days after their exchange, and an official has now confirmed that authorities in Romania seized 11 cars from Tate and his brother after they were arrested.
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Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romania's DIICOT investigations agency, told Insider the cars were being held to 'sustain the cost of the investigation' into Tate, explaining the cars could also be used as collateral to cover the cost of any payments granted to their alleged victims.
The spokesperson was not able to confirm the makes and models of the cars, though Romanian news outlet Gândul claimed to have published photos of those that had been seized, including images of a Rolls-Royce Wraith from the Black Badge range, and an Aston Martin Vanquish S Ultimate.
Meanwhile, Spy News reported a Buggati Chiron, a Rolls Royce, two Ferrari cars and a Porsche have been seized by the police as part of the investigation.
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As well as seizing cars, Romanian authorities are believed to have seized a number of buildings from the two brothers.
Bolla said investigators are working to establish whether the Tates bought the cars using money gained from human trafficking.
In a statement released after the arrest of the Tate brothers and two other suspects, DIICOT explained: "The four suspects... appear to have created an organised crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialised websites for a cost."
Tate and his brother maintained their right to silence during their detention hearing.
Topics: Greta Thunberg, Celebrity, Crime, Cars
Emily Brown