By MIRIAM KUEPPER
Published: | Updated:
Andrew Tate and his brother have reportedly left Romania by private jet.
Andrew and his brother Tristan left Romania around 5am local time (3am British time) via Baneasa airport this morning, sources in Bucharest told the BBC.
They are believed to have left the country by private jet and are said to be heading to the US.
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)
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 brothers said in a written 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.
‘Their sole focus is on ensuring that due process is followed and that their innocence is established in a court of law.’
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 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.’
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.