Court releases Andrew Tate from house arrest

A Romanian court has released controversial online influencer Andrew Tate from house arrest while a criminal investigation is conducted, according to his spokesman.

He has instead been placed under judicial supervision, which means he can travel within Romania “while complying with the necessary legal conditions,” according to the spokesman.

Tate, 38, is facing allegations of trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering, alongside his brother Tristan. Both have strongly denied the charges.

The spokesman added: “Andrew Tate and his team remain committed to full cooperation and the pursuit of justice.”

Tate was put under house arrest in August when prosecutors launched a second criminal investigation against himself and Tristan Tate, as well as four other suspects, over allegations of trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering. They all deny wrongdoing.

A first, separate case against the brothers was sent back to prosecutors by the Court of Appeals in Bucharest in December for the second time, saying it could not proceed in its current form.

In this case, Andrew and Tristan Tate were accused of human trafficking and forming an organised group to sexually exploit women.

They deny these allegations too, as well as those of rape and human trafficking that have been made against them in the UK, where police are seeking to extradite the dual UK-US nationals.

A judge in Bucharest has previously said that extradition request will be dealt with after the conclusion of the case in Romania.

The brothers have also been accused of tax evasion in the UK. Last month, a British court ruled that police could seize more than £2m ($2.4m) from them for failing to pay tax on £21m in revenue from their online businesses.

Andrew Tate said the ruling was “not justice” and called it a “co-ordinated attack”.

He is a self-described misogynist and has previously been banned from social media platforms for expressing those views.

A former kickboxer, he has gained millions of followers online and has lived in Romania for a number of years, having previously been based in the UK.

Source:BBC news