Online influencer Andrew Tate moved to house arrest in Romania
Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian women were placed under house arrest while under investigation for alleged human trafficking and rape.
Divisive online influencer and self-described misogynist Andrew Tate and his brother have been placed under house arrest while being investigated for alleged human trafficking and rape after a Romanian court rejected a prosecutor’s request to keep them in custody until the end of April.
Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects have been in police custody since December 29. Prosecutors are investigating them on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
Accompanied by their Romanian lawyers, the brothers – who deny all charges against them – were released around midnight. [21:00 GMT] on Friday from the police station in Bucharest. The two female suspects have also been released.
“We consider the court’s decision to be lawful, thorough and correct,” Tate’s lawyer Eugen Vidineac told reporters Friday.
He said the brothers were forbidden from contacting witnesses and leaving the house without permission from authorities.
“We don’t have the court’s justification yet, we don’t know if there are any other bans,” Vidineac said.
“We’re going home,” Tristan Tate told reporters outside the prison in Romanian. His brother Andrew did not comment.
A small group of supporters met them outside the prison and chanted “Top G” – as Andrew Tate is known among his online followers.
Earlier this week, the same Bucharest appeals court rejected the Tate brothers’ request to be released on bail.
In previous rulings extending their stay in police custody, judges said the Tate brothers posed a flight risk and their release could jeopardize the investigation.
“All four will be released tonight,” Ramona Bolla, a spokesman for Romania’s DIICOT unit against organized crime, told Reuters news agency. “The decision is final, the investigation continues.”
Asked if Friday’s ruling will expedite the investigation, Bolla said prosecutors have until the end of June to bring the suspects to justice.
According to Romanian law, prosecutors have filed charges against the four suspects, but the case is still under investigation and has not come to trial.
Prosecutors have said the Tate brothers recruited their alleged victims by seducing them and falsely claiming to want a relationship or marriage. The victims were then forced to produce pornographic content for social media sites that brought large financial benefits.
The Tate brothers moved to Romania several years ago and Tristan has a baby boy who was born after his arrest.
As part of the investigation, Romanian police raided several properties associated with the Tate brothers and seized many of their assets, including a collection of luxury cars.
A court document from January stated that a woman from the United Kingdom was “recruited” after falling in love with Andrew Tate, who then brought her to Romania “for the purpose of sexual exploitation”.
In 2016, Tate appeared on the reality TV show “Big Brother” in the UK but was removed after a video emerged showing him assaulting a woman.
He then turned to social media to promote his divisive views before being banned from several social media platforms for misogynistic comments and hate speech.
Tate was allowed back on Twitter, where he has 5.5 million followers, after South African-born billionaire Elon Musk bought the company.