Andrew Tate and his brother have reportedly left Romania by private jet following pressure by the Trump administration to lift the travel restrictions imposed on them.
Andrew and his brother Tristan left Romania around 5am local time (3am UK time) via Baneasa airport this morning, sources in Bucharest told the BBC.
They are believed to have left the country by private jet, with sources adding that the brothers are heading to the US state of Florida on their US passports after the documents were returned to them by Romanian authorities.
This comes after officials from the Trump administration earlier this month pressured Romanian authorities to lift travel restrictions on self-described misogynist influencer Tate and his brother Tristan as they face criminal charges in the country.
The pair, who are joint US and UK nationals, were arrested in 2022 on charges of human trafficking, sexual misconduct, money laundering and forming an organised crime group. They have denied any wrongdoing.
US officials raised their case with Bucharest in a phone call in early February before following up with a meeting between Trump’s special envoy Richard Grenell and the Romanian foreign minister, sources reportedly told the Financial Times.
Another insider told the newspaper that a request had been made to return the brothers’ passports and allow them to travel while they await the conclusion of their court proceedings.
The brothers’ movements have been restricted since their 2022 arrest – spending three months in police detention, before being put under house arrest and then being prevented from leaving the country.
Andrew Tate and his brother have reportedly left Romania by private jet (the Tate brothers are pictured above following a court appearance in Bucharest in January)
They are believed to have left the country by private jet, with sources adding that the brothers are heading to the US state of Florida (file image of Andrew Tate previously sitting in a private jet)
Andrew Tate has labelled Trump ‘the best president in history’ and declared ahead of his election victory that he would be moving back the the US
The two men also face charges including accusations of rape and human trafficking in the UK, and a court in Bucharest has ruled that they can be extradited to Britain once a final decision is reached in their case in Romania.
The Romanian special prosecutor’s service (DIICOT) investigating the Tate brothers said in a statement that the case against the two has not been dropped.
The brothers will have to return to Romania at a later date, which the BBC understands to be at the end of March, according to journalist Nick Thorpe, who is currently in Bucharest.
Thorpe said Andrew and Tristan Tate will declare the travel restrictions imposed upon them being lifted as a ‘great victory’.
‘Regarding two defendants, persons with dual citizenship, American and British, under judicial control in the criminal cases in which they are investigated by DIICOT – Central Structure prosecutors, we make the following clarification: the request to revoke the preventive measure of judicial control was rejected, this being maintained in both cases in which criminal prosecution is under way,’ DIICOT said.
According to DIICOT, the only thing that changed in the case is that the travel restrictions that dictated that the Tate brothers could not leave Romania has been lifted.
Should they fail to appear for any upcoming hearings in court in Romania, this ‘may lead to the replacement of judicial control with a higher measure of deprivation of liberty, DIICOT said in their statement.
The brothers previously said in a statement that they ‘remain fully dedicated to working alongside their legal team to explore every legal avenue available within the framework of Romania’s judicial system.
Andrew Tate still faces criminal proceedings in both Romania and the UK
‘Their sole focus is on ensuring that due process is followed and that their innocence is established in a court of law.’
An advocate of Trump who once described him as ‘the best president in history’, Tate suggested after the 2024 election that his case in Romania would now be dismissed, telling his followers to ‘watch this space’.
Following Trump’s win, Tate also posted: ‘THE PATRIARCHY IS BACK,’ before reiterating his belief that women should not be allowed to vote.
Grenell insisted that there had been ‘no substantive conversation’ between him and Romanian foreign minister Emil Hurezeanu at the Munich Security Conference, but added that ‘I support the Tate brothers as evident by my publicly available tweets.’
Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu had also denied being pressured by the Trump administration to lift the travel restrictions imposed on the Tate brothers.
The alleged victims of Andrew Tate were ‘absolutely distraught’ after hearing that Trump’s officials lobbied to lift travel restrictions against the influencer.
Matthew Jury, a lawyer representing four alleged victims of Andrew Tate said Tate’s accusers were ‘distraught’ over US officials’ call to Romanian authorities
Matthew Jury, a lawyer representing four alleged victims of Tate, told BBC Newsnight the victims were ‘distraught’ at hearing the news.
He said: ‘They are absolutely distraught, if you can imagine these are women who are victims of the most horrible and horrific alleged crimes. To see the most powerful man in the world support their alleged abuser is incredibly traumatising.
‘They are absolutely bewildered as to why the Trump administration has decided to interfere in this way.’
MailOnline has contacted representatives for Tate for comment.
