Andrew Tate's alleged "secret ringleader" named as influencer faces charges
A new documentary claims to have uncovered a “secret ringleader” of alleged human trafficker Andrew Tate’s organisation.
Former kickboxer Tate, 36, is awaiting trial in Romania having been charged with rape, human trafficking and creating an organised crime group to sexually exploit women. Tate, along with his brother Tristan, denies all charges. Now, the BBC’s Andrew Tate: The Man Who Groomed The World? claims to have uncovered evidence of women being groomed into sex work by the controversial influencer’s “War Room” group, with allegations of a self-proclaimed “wizard” at the top.
Known by the alias “Iggy Semmelweis”, this alleged ringleader has not been accused of any wrongdoing by the justice system. But while Tate, his brother Tristan and two female associates face charges, all denying the allegations, the channel’s investigation found Iggy appears to be the War Room’s true leader and intellectual driving force.
Miles Sonkin (also known as Iggy Semmelweis) on the BBC documentary (BBC)The documentary looked at leaked internal chat logs from a 13 month period - 12,000 pages of encrypted Telegram messages sent by hundreds of War Room members - finding 45 potential victims. The texts, which start in March 2019, showcase techniques used by members to exploit women with a so-called “PhD” course with the initials standing for “Pimpin’ Hoes Degree”.
War Room leaders, known as “generals”, instruct members on how to romantically seduce, emotionally manipulate and socially isolate women before luring them to perform on webcams, often taking all or most of the money they make. Tate’s group costs £6,300 a year to join and he describes it promoting “self-discipline, motivation and confidence building whilst giving members access to thousands of professionals from around the world who encourage personal responsibility and accountability, emphasising the importance of taking ownership of your choices and actions”.
Bearded Andrew Tate looks disheveled as he arrives at court for latest hearing
But Eli, a whistleblower who claims he spent two years as the Tate organisation’s head of sales and marketing, told the BBC: “The War Room is all about you getting women that serve you in your life.” And Eli, who calls the group a “cult”, said “Iggy is at the top” when it came to leading the group, which had 434 members from around the globe as of August 2022.
Leaked messages from the War Room suggested violence against women was taught and encouraged, with one photograph of a woman bent over with serious bruising and cuts to her backside and the tagline “Who me?”. A leading member who uses the alias “Joe Lampton” describes reacting to a complaint from a woman who worked for him by saying: “I took her keyboard and hit her in the head with it”. “She went into the room and worked seven hours without any break,” he continued in the documentary.
Andrew Tate (right) with his brother Tristan (AP)According to the leaked chats, War Room members appear to believe they are performing “Pavlovian conditioning” on women with one message reading: “This is how you train dogs”. “Tests of submission” are described, which include getting women to tattoo the War Room members’ initials on their bodies.
While not all members of the War Room may act on its teachings, the documentary claims it identified many of the women possibly groomed by members of the group, plus a further 29 who were targeted over the same period. Two women from different countries claimed they were lured into romantic relationships by group members before allegedly being manipulated into sex work, subjected to violence and isolated from friends.
One known by the pseudonym “Amanda” claims she gave away up to 80 per cent of what she earned, which totalled £75,000, to two War Room members. Amanda, from the US’s West Coast, said she was slapped across the face by a “general” who exploited her, showing the journalist photos of bruising she claims was caused by War Room members.
“He used sex a lot to manipulate me,” added an Argentianian woman known by the pseudonym “Maria”, of her experience with a War Room member. A statement issued by Tate’s press officer said the BBC’s findings represented “another brazen attempt to present one-sided, unverified” allegations against him.
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