Representatives of Andrew Tate have released information about the conditions of which he must live now he has been freed from house arrest.
The British-American influencer, 36, was released from house arrest in Bucharest, Romania, after he was first arrested in December on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. He was also later indicted for tampering with computer evidence.
Tate was arrested alongside his brother Tristan and two Romanian women who have all denied their culpability. The brothers spent three months in a Bucharest jail before being released into house arrest.
Part of the conditions of their release included not being allowed to travel beyond Bucharest and the wider Ilfov County without prior approval from the courts. They are not allowed to have contact with their other defendants, witnesses in their trial, their alleged victims or their families.
A spokesperson for Tate told Newsweek the brothers' "appeal for judiciary control has been approved by the Romanian courts, and they are no longer under house arrest."
"They are now free to travel within Bucharest and Ilfov county. However, they may have the opportunity to travel beyond these boundaries with the prior approval of the courts," the spokesperson said.
"Other limitations include not being allowed to be in close proximity with any of the other defendants, any of the witnesses or any of the alleged victims and their immediate family."
The authorities have not yet decided how often Romanian police will carry out control checks on the brothers.
"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's spokesperson concluded.
Tate was officially indicted in June on two counts of rape, human trafficking, and forming an organized crime group to sexually exploit women.
Prosecutors also introduced the charge of tampering with digital evidence and 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 based on an investigation by Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT).
They also requested to confiscate a number of physical assets which included 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).
Tate is a controversial online figure who previously offered courses in masculinity through his 'Hustler's Academy' and has often been criticized for his view on women.
Just a day after receiving the indictment in Bucharest, Tate was sued by four women in the U.K. who have accused him of various crimes including rape, physical violence and coercive.
They claimed in the civil suit that the alleged crimes occurred between 2013 and 2016.
The 36-year-old was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 14, 1986 then raised in Luton, a town in the U.K. just north of London. He holds dual citizenship.
He competed in the professional martial arts and kickboxing competitions in the U.K before making an appearance on reality show Big Brother in 2016. Along with the comments deemed to be misogynistic he was removed from the house after footage emerged of him whipping a woman with a belt, an act he claimed was consensual.
The following year he caused outrage by saying women "must bear some responsibility" if they're raped, at the height of the #MeToo scandal.
Tate was banned from Instagram and Twitter for his controversial views, but was allowed back on to Twitter when Elon Musk bought the platform in 2022.
Specialists from the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) sexual assault hotline are available 24/7 via phone (1 (800) 656-4673) and online chat. Additional support from the group is also accessible via the mobile app.
UPDATE: 8/4/2023 08:06 A.M. ET. This story was updated to include additional background information.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more
