Andrew and Tristan Tate's lawyers plan judicial review of UK extradition bid
The move comes after British prosecutors placed a formal request with the US State Department to bring the brothers back to the UK to face charges earlier this month
Andrew and Tristan Tate’s UK lawyers have said they intend to challenge a bid to extradite the brothers from the US to Britain through a judicial review.
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British prosecutors placed a formal request with the US State Department to bring the social media influencers back to the UK to face rape and sex trafficking charges earlier this month.
Andrew Ford and Adam Rasul of defence solicitors Holborn Adams said, while speaking to Piers Morgan on Thursday, that the brothers should first face separate criminal proceedings in Romania.
Both men deny any wrongdoing.
Mr Ford said: “We have started a process of judicial review to challenge the UK’s decision to seek extradition.
“In March 2024, Romania made an order to agree to extradition back to the UK, but once Romanian proceedings are concluded.”
Read more: UK prosecutors demand for Tate brothers to be extradited from US
Mr Ford argued that pursuing UK extradition while proceedings in Romania continued would “deprive them of their opportunity to be exonerated”, adding it would “impact upon their ability to be able to defend themselves in the UK”.
The judicial review enables a court to examine whether a decision by a public body was made lawfully.
The US State Department is reviewing the UK’s extradition applications to ensure they comply with the existing treaty between London and Washington.
Once this process is completed, the applications will be sent to the US Justice Department, which will hand them to the court. The court will then make the final decision on the extradition requests.
A State Department official letter details that Andrew Tate, 39, is “wanted to stand trial in the United Kingdom” on a series of charges, including 10 counts of rape, three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation and three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Tate is also accused of making and distributing indecent images of a child and possessing extreme pornography.
Tristan Tate, 38, is also facing several charges, including five counts of rape, six counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, three counts of sex trafficking and a sexual assault.
The brothers’ US lawyer, Joe McBride, said he would be challenging the requests, arguing they were not supported with the necessary information under the provisions of the extradition agreement between the UK and the US.
The move from the lawyers comes after Romanian authorities charged Andrew Tate with complicity in trafficking a minor and money laundering, while Tristan Tate was indicted for complicity in trafficking in minors and money laundering earlier this month.