Controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate will not be able to leave Romania while he prepares to stand trial accused of human trafficking.
It comes after a court of appeal in the capital Bucharest overturned an earlier ruling which granted the self-proclaimed misogynist and three other suspects – his brother Tristan and two Romanian women – freedom of movement within the European Union.
The Tate siblings were charged in June 2023 with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
The two Romanian suspects also face charges as part of the case and all four deny the allegations against them.
What has happened since brothers were detained?
Andrew Tate, 37, and Tristan Tate, 36, were held in police custody in Romania during the criminal investigation from December 2022 until April 2023 to prevent them from fleeing the country.
They were then placed under house arrest until last August, when courts put them under judicial control, a lighter preventative measure where they were limited to travel within Bucharest and the surrounding Ilfov County.
In April this year, a court in the capital ruled that their trial could go ahead.
US-born Andrew Tate appealed that decision by the Bucharest Tribunal and pending a ruling on it, the four were banned from leaving EU-member Romania.
Then earlier this month, the tribunal lifted the restriction, granting the suspects freedom of movement within the EU.
Romania’s anti-organised crime prosecution agency DIICOT challenged that ruling and the Bucharest Court of Appeals has now overturned it.
The court said it “rejects as unfounded the accused’s request to replace the obligation to not leave Romanian territory with the obligation of not leaving the European Union”.
Tate also faces civil case in UK
In a separate case in May this year, Andrew Tate was served with civil proceedings papers at his home in Romania on behalf of four British women.
Lawyers for the alleged victims said they were bringing a case against Tate at the High Court in the UK, after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to prosecute in 2019.
Pic: AP
The four women allege Tate raped and assaulted them and are seeking “damages for injuries they suffered as a result”.
Tate is accused in the case alongside Tristan.
Three of the British accusers were the subject of an investigation by Hertfordshire Constabulary, which was closed in 2019.
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The siblings will be extradited to the UK following the proceedings in Romania, after Bedfordshire Police secured a European arrest warrant for further separate allegations of rape and human trafficking which date back to 2012-2015.
A representative for the Tate brothers said they “unequivocally deny all allegations”, and are “fully committed to challenging these accusations with unwavering determination and resolve”.
Andrew Tate is a former kickboxer and Big Brother contestant who has gained millions of fans by promoting an ultra-masculine lifestyle that critics say denigrates women.
Tristan Tate is also a former kickboxer turned social media influencer like his brother.