BUCHAREST, Romania — Andrew and Tristan Tate, the influencer brothers facing human trafficking charges in Romania, have left for the United States after a travel restriction was lifted, according to an official on Thursday.
The brothers are also accused of creating a criminal organization to exploit women sexually.
The circumstances under which the Tates—outspoken supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump with a large online following—were permitted to leave Romania are unclear.
An anonymous official from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who was not authorized to speak about the case, stated that prosecutors had the authority to make the decision.
DIICOT, Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, released a statement Thursday confirming that prosecutors had approved a “request to modify the obligation preventing the defendants from leaving Romania,” while maintaining judicial control measures. The agency did not disclose who made the request.
The statement specified, “These include the requirement to appear before judicial authorities when summoned.” It also warned, “The defendants have been warned that deliberately violating these obligations may result in judicial control being replaced with a stricter deprivation of liberty measure.”
Andrew Tate, 38, and Tristan Tate, 36—both U.S.-British citizens—were apprehended near Bucharest in late 2022 along with two Romanian women. All four were formally charged by Romanian prosecutors last year. In April, the Bucharest Tribunal determined that a trial could commence but did not set a date. All four deny the charges.
The Tates’ departure follows comments made this month by Romania’s Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu, who stated that a U.S. official from the Trump administration had shown interest in the brothers’ legal situation in Romania during the Munich Security Conference. The minister asserted that this did not constitute pressure.
In December, a Bucharest court ruled that the case against the Tates and the two Romanian women could not proceed to trial due to multiple legal and procedural errors by the prosecutors.
This ruling by the Bucharest Court of Appeal was a significant setback for DIICOT, but it did not allow the defendants to go free. The case remains open, and the brothers are also facing a separate legal matter in Romania.
