Andrew Tate Released From House Arrest

Andrew Tate has won his appeal to be released from house arrest almost seven months after he was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking.

The influencer, 36, was arrested in December 2022 by Romanian authorities on charges of rape, human trafficking, and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. He was also charged with tampering with computer evidence, according to Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT).

On Friday, the Bucharest Court of Appeals declared in a written ruling that it "replaces the house arrest measure with that of judicial control for a period of 60 days from 4 August until 2 October."

Tate was arrested alongside his brother, Tristan, and two female Romanian nationals for allegedly coercing women, often via violent means, into making pornographic material. All four have claimed their innocence since they were arrested.

The Tate brothers spent three months in a Bucharest jail before being released into house arrest at their "Hustler's Compound." The pair were officially indicted in June.

A spokesperson for Tate's lawyer told Newsweek thatthe conditions of the brothers' release include remaining in Bucharest and the wider Ilov county unless they got prior permission from Romanian courts to leave the area.

The men are also not allowed in close proximity to their other defendants, witnesses, alleged victims, or their families.

"The authorities are yet to decide on the frequency of the control checks with the Romanian police," the spokesperson told Newsweek. "We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the Romanian judicial system for their fair consideration."

They added: "This positive outcome gives us confidence that more favorable developments are on the horizon and the truth is beginning to prevail. We also want to thank all the supporters who have shown great resilience and patience during this time."

Tate and his brother were officially indicted in June by prosecutors who also added the charge of tampering with computer evidence. DIICOT alleged one of the defendants illegally accessed the computer of a victim in October 2021 and posted compromising images of her to her social media.

Prosecutors also accused the defendants of allegedly trying to "punish" one of the victims through "acts of violence" after she refused to continue making pornographic material and requesting to leave the building where she was being kept.

June's indictment also included requests to confiscate physical assets including 15 blocks of buildings, 15 luxury cars, 14 luxury watches, and metals. Prosecutors also asked to confiscate shares held within four commercial companies, around $384,904,789 in cryptocurrency, and ordered the defendants to pay the state's advanced legal expenses of around the amount of 300,000 lei ($66,047).

The day after the indictment, Tate was served with a civil lawsuit by four women in the U.K. who accused him of various crimes including physical violence, rape and coercive control between 2013 and 2016.

Tate, a former professional kickboxer, rose to prominence during his stint on the U.K. reality show Big Brother for comments that were deemed to be misogynistic towards women.

He was kicked out of the TV show for what producers said were actions that occurred outside of the house prior to his entry. Tate claimed that a newspaper planned to release a video of him whipping a woman with a belt, which he said at the time was fake.

Tate later became an influencer on social media and YouTube where he spoke about men's masculinity and cryptocurrency.

Update 8/4/23, 9:29 a.m. ET: This article was updated to clarify the reason why Tate was kicked off Big Brother.

Update 8/4/23, 8:37 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and comment from a spokesperson for Tate's lawyer.