Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian women were moved to house arrest while they were under investigation for alleged human trafficking and rape.
Divisive online influencer and self-described misogynist Andrew Tate and his brother have been moved to house arrest while they are investigated for alleged human trafficking and rape after a Romanian court rejected prosecutors’ request to keep them in police custody until the end of April.
Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian suspects have been in police custody since December 29. Prosecutors are investigating them on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and the formation of a criminal group for the sexual exploitation of women.
Accompanied by their Romanian lawyers, the brothers – who deny all the charges against them – were released around midnight [21:00 GMT] on Friday from the police central arrest premises in Bucharest. Two female suspects were also released.
“We consider the court decision legal, thorough and correct,” Tate’s lawyer, Eugen Vidineac, told reporters on Friday.
He said that the brothers were forbidden to contact witnesses and leave the house without permission from the authorities.
“We don’t have the court’s motivation yet, we don’t know if there are other prohibitions,” said the Vidineac.
“We’re going home,” Tristan Tate told reporters in Romanian outside the prison. His brother Andrew did not comment.
A small group of supporters were waiting outside the prison, chanting “Top G” – as Andrew Tate is known to his online followers.
Earlier this week, the same appeals court in Bucharest rejected the Tata brothers’ request to be released on bail.
In previous rulings extending their stay in police custody, judges said the Tate brothers were a flight risk and their release could jeopardize the investigation.
“All four are going out tonight,” Ramona Bolla, a spokeswoman for Romania’s anti-organized crime unit DIICOT, told the Reuters news agency. “The decision is final, the investigation continues.”
Asked if Friday’s decision would speed up the investigation, Bolla said prosecutors have until the end of June to send the suspects to trial.
Under Romanian law, prosecutors filed charges against the four suspects, but the case is still under investigation and has not gone to trial.
Prosecutors said the Tate brothers recruited their alleged victims by seducing them and falsely claiming they wanted a relationship or marriage. The victims were then forced to produce pornographic content for social media sites that generated large financial profits.
The Tate brothers moved to Romania a few years ago, and Tristan has a son who was born after his arrest.
As part of the investigation, Romanian police raided several properties linked to the Tate brothers and seized many of their assets, including a collection of luxury cars.
A court document from January said one woman was “recruited” from the UK 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 surfaced 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 remarks and hate speech.
Tate was allowed back on Twitter, where he has 5.5 million followers, after South African billionaire Elon Musk bought the company.