A court in Romania’s capital ruled on Friday that Andrew Tate is allowed to leave the country but must remain within the European Union as he awaits trial on charges of human trafficking, rape, and forming a criminal gang to exploit women sexually.
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According to NBC News, Tate’s spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, celebrated the Bucharest Tribunal’s decision to permit Tate to exit Romania as a “significant victory and a major step forward” in the ongoing case. As previously reported, Tate was initially arrested in December 2022 near Bucharest alongside his brother Tristan and two Romanian women. Romanian prosecutors formally indicted all four in June of last year and denied the allegations.
The social media influencer posted about the decision on X(formerly Twitter), stating, “I AM FREE. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 3 YEARS I CAN LEAVE ROMANIA. THE SHAM CASE IS FALLING APART.” Eugen Vidineac, one of Tate’s lawyers, also released a statement and said, “We embrace and applaud the decision of the court today, I consider it a reflection of the exemplary behavior and assistance of my clients,” adding that the Tates are “still determined to clear their name and reputation.”
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On April 26, the Bucharest Tribunal ruled that the prosecutors’ case file against Tate met the legal criteria for a trial but did not set a start date. This ruling followed months of preliminary chamber discussions, during which the defendants could challenge the prosecutors’ evidence and case file.
Following their arrest, the Tate brothers were held for three months in police detention before being moved to house arrest. Subsequently, they were restricted to Bucharest municipality, nearby Ilfov county, and then Romania. Vidineac noted that the ability to travel within the 27-nation EU bloc would allow the brothers to seek professional opportunities without restrictions.