Jail wiretaps cited by judges in court documents obtained by BuzzFeed News show that Andrew allegedly hoped to flee to Dubai under the pretense of receiving medical treatment there. (The United Arab Emirates does not have an extradition treaty with Romania.) A Tate representative told the Daily Mail in early March that a dark spot on Andrew’s lung was “most likely a tumor.” However, Andrew later clarified via Twitter that the spot was actually a scar “from an old battle.” The authorities rejected Andrew’s request to travel.
Eugen Vidineac, the Tates’ lawyer, has quelled speculation that the brothers might try to flee. “They have a house and children in Romania, they are under criminal investigation, there is no reason to flee,” he told local media. Mateea Petrescu, a spokesperson for the Tates, told BuzzFeed News: “Regarding their departure from the country, the partially released wiretaps omitted context. [namely] “Andrew is considering traveling to Dubai for medical consultations only if his status allows it.”
Romanian authorities also said the Tates have encouraged their army of followers to send messages to at least one alleged victim demanding that she retract her accusations. “These comments have the character of provoking in the victim a state of fear as a result of the threatening tone they have when addressing her, trying to induce her to change her statements regarding the accused in the case,” the judge noted in the February summary.
(Sulaiman Ahmed, a pro-Tate online personality, tweeted on February 18 that he had traveled to Palm Beach, Florida, the hometown of one of the key witnesses in the case, “for an important story.” However, there was no indication that Ahmed, who did not respond to BuzzFeed News’ request for comment, actually met with the witness or her family.)
In addition to this, in December, a US law firm representing the brothers sent a cease and desist letter to the woman in Florida, urging her to retract her statements or face a defamation lawsuit. Romanian authorities see this letter as one piece of the alleged intimidation puzzle.
Another American lawyer for the Tates, Tina Glandian, who is part of their Romanian legal team, recently highlighted to the media that her “firm had no involvement in sending the cease and desist letter.” Petrescu told BuzzFeed News that the letter was “a LEGAL action in the United States,” adding: “These suspicions are obsolete given that the appeals court judges decided to put them under house arrest.”
