Former professional kickboxer and social media influencer Andrew Tate (L) and his brother Tristan (R) arrive for a hearing on return of confiscated goods at Bucharest Court in Bucharest, Romania, 09 January 2025. Police had confiscated luxury cars, cash, and other belongings from the Tate property in Voluntari. Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan were arrested on 29 December 2022 as a result of the DIICOT (Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism) inquiry on charges of human trafficking and intention to form an organized crime group. Romanian police stated that the two brothers and their associates coerced victims for creating a paid pornography service for social media platforms. The trial itself has not started yet, as the appeal court judges sent the case back to DIICOT prosecutors by a decision made at the end of 2024. In a social media post from 06 January 2025, Tate brothers announced their intention to create a new political party in UK called Britain Restoring Underlying Values (BRUV). EPA-EFE/Robert GhementThe Tate brothers are under criminal investigation in Romania on accusations of forming an organised criminal group, human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering. They have denied all wrongdoing.
The Financial Times reported last week, citing sources, that members of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration had pressured Romanian authorities to lift travel restrictions on the Tates, former kickboxers with dual U.S. and British citizenship.
Tate's lawyer and communication team did not immediately comment on the report the Tates had left the country.
Romania's Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu said the Tates were mentioned during his brief hallway meeting with Trump’s special envoy Richard Grenell at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month.
Pending the criminal investigation, the Tates are under judicial control, a light preventative measure under which they are required to check in with the police regularly.
Until this week, they were also banned from leaving Romania, a measure prosecutors said they lifted.
"The request to change the obligation of not leaving Romania was approved," prosecutors said in a statement on Thursday.
"All the other obligations have been maintained, including the requirement to check in with judicial authorities every time they are called."
A first criminal case against Tate and his brother failed in December when a Bucharest court decided not to start the trial and sent the files back to prosecutors citing flaws in the indictment.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Sharon SingletonEditing by Alexandra Hudson and Sharon Singleton)
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