Andrew Tate and his brother are said to have taken Romania to the United States
Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate, a person familiar with the matter, were imprisoned for two years in Romania for criminal investigations, leaving the country for the United States on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the matter.
According to the man, the brothers boarded the plane Thursday morning and he asked not to name it because of the sensitivity of the matter. Romanian prosecutors said in a press release that they are still conducting criminal investigations of two British citizens while answering questions about the brothers. Instead of naming the people, they said they were allowed to leave Romania and had to “appear in the judicial authorities when summoned.”
The State Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Thais face a protracted legal battle with prosecutors, accusing the brothers of trafficking in persons and forming an organized criminal organization. According to Romanian prosecutors, the brothers misled several women and believed they wanted to establish a relationship with them. The women were placed in a compound near Bucharest and were forced to appear in online pornographic videos, prosecutors said.
TATES repeatedly denied all charges against them and successfully appealed the indictment of the Bucharest Court, which found the case did not meet the requirements of the trial.
Since then, Romanian prosecutors say they are investigating the brothers’ allegations of other trafficking and money laundering.
In recent weeks, the brothers have been more determined with President Trump. “It will be free, Trump is the president. Good times from the past are back,” Andrew Tate said on X earlier this month.
The Financial Times reported that U.S. officials urged Romania to lift travel restrictions on the brothers. Richard Grenell, a special envoy to the United States, and a close ally of Mr. Trump, filed a lawsuit with the country’s foreign secretary Emil Hurezeanu at the Munich security conference earlier this month. Mr. Geenell could not be contacted for comment.
The country’s Foreign Affairs Department said in an X post at the time that Mr. Hurezeanu had a “focused exchange” with Mr. Grenell. The ministry said officials from both countries “cover current topics of common interest”, but the postal did not mention the Tate Brothers.
Mr Hurezeanu later told G4Media that it was an online news website covering judicial issues, and he and Mr Grenell had a brief conversation in the hallway of the conference, during which Mr Grenell raised the Tate Brothers. Mr Hurezeanu said he had asked for a meeting with Mr Grenell to understand that “his intentions are related to Romania” but the conversation never happened.
The Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The brothers were also arrested in Romania in March 2024, with another warrant accused by British authorities of trafficking in persons. The Bucharest Court ruled that the brothers should be extradited to the UK after the Romanian case was resolved. It is not clear what the extradition ruling will be.
Four British women also sued Andrew Tate in 2024, claiming that he raped and abused them. Earlier this month, an American woman sued the brothers, allegedly tempting her to Romania and coercing her to do sexual work, the first lawsuit filed by the United States against Thais. The brothers sued her for defamation.
They have been released but remain in Romania under judicial control. Their lawyers call them “political hostages.”
