KEY POINTS

  • Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested as part of investigation into rape and organized crime
  • During a raid, cops found a group on women on one of Andrew's properties in Romania
  • One of the women spoke about the allegations against the brothers, said cops had no proof

A Ukrainian woman and war refugee defended Andrew Tate in light of the controversial influencer being arrested as part of a human trafficking, rape and organized crime investigation.

The woman, who called herself Lisa, was reportedly among the women investigators found during a raid of Tate's Romanian properties last week.

Lisa had been living on the Tate property for about a month before Andrew and his brother Tristan were arrested on Dec. 29.

In an interview with the Times of London, the Ukrainian woman defended Tate as he faces allegations of running an online sex business that forces women into porn against their will. Andrew and Tristan are accused of exploiting six women and keeping them at some of their luxury properties in Romania.

Lisa spoke about the allegations and said the police had no proof to support them. "Everything the police have said is not true," she told the U.K. paper, as quoted by the New York Post. "What the police are saying, I know it is untrue. They don't have any proof."

Lisa said she first met the Tate brothers at a party in Kyiv about three years back. She said she left war-torn Ukraine and recently arrived at the $360,000 property in Romania after being invited by two Romanian housemates to live with Tate's assistant.

"I know them [the Tates] and they could not do this. The girls who live here do not have to do anything. They are good girls," she was quoted saying.

Lisa also said the Tate brothers mostly made their money from TikTok videos and earned about $4,000 a month. Andrew spoke to her about having an online sex business but assured her that it was "a very long time ago ... maybe when they are 23 or 24 and made their first million dollars," Lisa continued.

"They have so much money. They cannot make so much money from video [sex] chats," she added.

Lisa also defended Andrew's misogynistic statements and said he only "acts" that way. "He is not like that in real life," she said.

"I don't believe anything bad about them — I have known them for a long time," Lisa added about the Tate brothers.

During the raid on Andrew's properties, officials also reportedly seized Lisa's laptop as part of the investigation.

"I told them I was receiving Ukraine refugee payments and showed them every document and they said 'OK,'" she reportedly said.

Following their arrest, a Romanian court agreed to let Andrew be held in detention in Romania for 30 days.

"We are not at a stage where guilt or innocence is proven, for now, we only discuss preventive measures," the Tates' lawyer, Eugen Vidineac, told BBC and said that the accused brothers reject all the allegations against them.

Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate detained
Reuters