Andrew Tate, the controversial former kickboxing world champion turned social media influencer who is charged with human trafficking in Romania, has left for the US.
Tate, alongside his brother Tristan, were first arrested three years ago on allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering. They denied all claims.
The White House reportedly pressured the Romanian government to lift the travel restrictions on the Tate brothers, who are both dual US-UK citizens.
The Tate brothers flew out of the capital Bucharest on Thursday morning after their travel ban was lifted. DIICOT, the anti-organised crime agency in Romania, said prosecutors had approved a “request to modify the obligation preventing the defendants from leaving Romania”.
It is believed that the brothers still remain under investigation and are expected to return to Romania at the end of March.
Andrew, 38 and Tristan, 36, deny all wrongdoing across a string of civil and criminal cases relating to sex abuse and trafficking in the UK, US and Romania.
The case in Romania – in which two Romanian women were also charged – relates to rape and human trafficking offences, which includes organising an alleged criminal group to sexually exploit women. The case was sent back to prosecutors in December due to procedural issues and there is no current date set for a trial.
Tate was released from house arrest in January, after he was subjected to it when a second criminal case was brought against the pair in Romania last August.
But he has also seen his accounts banned over inflammatory statements he has made, often appearing to advocate violence against women, which the platforms ruled violated their policies.
He is frequently accused of embodying toxic masculinity and misogyny, having claimed that women cannot drive, belong in the home and are a man’s property.
He told the Anything Goes with James English podcast in June 2021 that he was “absolutely sexist” and “absolutely a misogynist”, only to then claim on Piers Morgan Uncensored more recently that he was “absolutely not”.
Teachers are increasingly concerned about the spread of his messages of male empowerment and his potentially radicalising influence on impressionable teenage boys.
Here is a brief introduction to the life and times of Andrew Tate.
1986
