Controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan, who are being investigated on several charges related to human trafficking and other offenses, left Romania in the early hours of Thursday, February 27, according to media reports. They are reportedly heading to the US by private jet.

According to G4media.ro, they left from Băneasa Airport with the destination Florida. 

The brothers' lawyer told Euronews Romania they are traveling to the US for a visit after Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) granted them permission to leave the country by modifying their judicial control measures.

In an official reaction, DIICOT said that the Tate brothers are under judicial control, but their request to modify the obligation preventing them from leaving the territory of Romania has been approved. 

The DIICOT statement reads, "The request for the revocation of the preventive measure of judicial control has been rejected, and it has been maintained in both cases under criminal investigation. The request to modify the obligation preventing the defendants from leaving the territory of Romania has been accepted, while the other obligations imposed by DIICOT prosecutors, including the obligation to appear before judicial authorities upon each summons, remain in place. It is noted that any bad-faith violation of these obligations may lead to the replacement of judicial control with a more restrictive measure, such as detention.

"We clarify that, throughout the entire criminal process, the individuals under investigation benefit from the rights and procedural guarantees provided by the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as the presumption of innocence."

Euronews Romania reported that, while Andrew and Tristan Tate are now allowed to travel freely, they must continue to comply with other legal obligations, including reporting to the police once a month. The remaining restrictions under judicial control, such as a supervision program, remain in place.

Andrew and Tristan Tate, who are dual UK-US nationals, were arrested near Bucharest in December 2022 on charges of human trafficking and sexual abuse, among others. They are currently under investigation in Romania in two separate cases handled by DIICOT. However, they have repeatedly denied the allegations.

Earlier this month, Financial Times reported that the Trump administration had been pressuring Romanian authorities to lift travel restrictions on the Tate brothers. However, prime minister Marcel Ciolacu said that the United States made no request to Romania regarding the legal status of the well-known influencers.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea)