UK lawyers for Andrew and Tristan Tate said they plan to challenge a bid to extradite the brothers from the US to Britain through a judicial review.
British prosecutors earlier this month lodged 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.
Speaking to Piers Morgan on Thursday night, Andrew Ford and Adam Rasul of defence solicitors Holborn Adams argued 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.”
Mr Ford argued pursuing UK extradition while proceedings in Romania remained ongoing 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 allows 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 has been completed, the applications will be sent to the US Justice Department, which will forward them to the court to make the final decision on the extradition request.
An official letter from the State Department 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.
He is also accused of making and distributing indecent images of a child and possessing extreme pornography.
Charges levelled against Tristan Tate, 38, include 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 backed up by the information needed under the provisions of the extradition agreement between the UK and the US.
Romanian authorities earlier this month 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.
