Andrew Tate and brother Tristan land in US after travel ban lifted by Romanian authorities

The controversial Tate brothers arrived in the US after flying from Romania, where they faced charges of trafficking minors and money laundering, as ITV News' Cari Davies reports

Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan landed in the US on Thursday after their travel ban was lifted by Romanian authorities.

The Tate brothers had been banned from leaving Romania since December 2023 while awaiting trial on several counts, including allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering.

A spokesperson for the brothers said they landed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, around midday local time.

US President Donald Trump said he "doesn't know anything about it" when asked if his administration had pressed the Romanian government to lift travel restrictions on the brothers.

Trump's comments came while at a press conference with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who added that "there's an English element here, so it's important justice is done, and human trafficking is, to my mind, a security risk".

Starmer added that the two leaders will "catch up with the story in due course".

Prime Minister Keir Starmer says it's "important justice is done" when speaking about Andrew Tate at a press conference in the Oval Office

Meanwhile, Andrew Tate said he and his brother were "largely misunderstood" when addressing reporters outside of the airport.

He said: "We live in a democratic society where it’s innocent until proven guilty, and I think my brother and I are largely misunderstood.

"There’s a lot of opinions about us, a lot of things that go around about us on the internet.

"We’re yet to be convicted of any crime in our lives ever. We have no criminal record anywhere on the planet, ever."

He also claimed that the case against him had been dismissed in December last year.

However, while a court ruled that the case couldn’t go to trial because of multiple legal and procedural irregularities on the part of the prosecutors, the case still remains open, and another investigation is ongoing in Romania.

Assets including properties, cars and bank accounts - which were seized during the investigation into the allegations - were also returned on Thursday.

In a statement, a spokesperson said: “This decision restores ownership of properties, vehicles, bank accounts and company shares to the rightful owners, Andrew and Tristan Tate and their companies.

"This decision comes after the judiciary control limitations have been modified in order to allow the brothers to travel to the USA.

“While some assets remain under precautionary seizure, this ruling marks a significant step toward justice. We remain committed to full transparency and will continue to uphold our legal rights.”

Four women who accused Andrew Tate of rape and coercive control, and brought a civil case against him in the UK, have said the news of his departure from Romania has left them "retraumatised."

In a joint statement through their lawyers, McCue Jury and Partners, they said: "We are in disbelief and feel retraumatised by the news that the Romanian authorities have given into pressure from the Trump administration to allow Andrew Tate to travel around Europe and to the US.

"We can only hope that the British authorities finally take action, do something about this terrifying unfolding situation and ensure he faces justice in the UK."

Matthew Jury, their solicitor at McCue Jury and Partners, said: "The UK authorities must take immediate steps to secure their extradition to the UK."

"Romania has embarrassed itself. The UK must not do the same. The UK government knew this might happen more than a week ago," he said.

"Given that Prime Minister Starmer is in the US today to meet with President Trump, perhaps his team might take the opportunity to raise this issue on behalf of the many British women who Tate is alleged to have raped and sexually assaulted who may now be denied justice."

The brothers received permission from the prosecutor in charge of their case to leave Romania. It is not clear under what conditions the Tates were allowed to travel.

However, Romania's anti-organised crime agency, DIICOT, said in a statement on Thursday that prosecutors approved a "request to modify the obligation preventing the defendants from leaving Romania," but that judicial control measures remained in place.

"These include the requirement to appear before judicial authorities whenever summoned," the statement read.

"The defendants have been warned that deliberately violating these obligations may result in judicial control being replaced with a stricter deprivation of liberty measure."

Andrew Tate, 38, and Tristan Tate, 36 - who are dual US- British citizens - were arrested near Romania's capital in late 2022 along with two Romanian women. Romanian prosecutors formally indicted all four last year. All four deny all of the allegations.

Andrew Tate is also facing criminal accusations of sexual misconduct in the UK. He has repeatedly denied those allegations.

The decision to allow them to travel to the US was unexpected, after almost two and a half years during which the Tates were not allowed to leave the country.

Andrew and Tristan Tate are keen supporters of Trump.

Last week, there were reports that figures in Trump's administration were pressuring the Romanian authorities to relax travel restrictions on the brothers.

US officials brought up the Tates' case in a call with the Romanian government earlier this month, and US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Richard Grenell, met the Romanian foreign minister at the Munich Security Conference, the Financial Times reported.

A request was made to return the Tates' passports to allow them to travel during criminal proceedings, the paper reported.

Andrew Tate has been banned from TikTok, YouTube and Facebook after the platforms accused him of posting hate speech and misogynistic comments, including that women should bear responsibility for being sexually assaulted.

But he remains popular on X, with more than 10 million followers. In July last year, senior police officers in the UK warned that influencers like Tate could radicalise social media followers into extreme misogyny.

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