The most controversial 38-year-old influencer Andrew Tate has been under house arrest in Romania and later under surveillance and travel ban. He is accused of, among other things, rape, trafficking of minors, and organizing a criminal group for the sexual exploitation of women.
His brother Tristan Tate, 36, has also been under surveillance by the authorities. The brothers were free to move around within Romania but were not allowed to leave the country until recently.
Around lunchtime on Thursday, the brothers landed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to spokesperson Mateea Petrescu, as reported by AP.
On Thursday, a court also decided, following an appeal from the duo, to lift the seizure of several assets.
Among them are six luxury cars, land, and properties, as well as company shares. All previously frozen bank accounts have been reopened, according to Petrescu.
Supported Trump
Four British women who have accused Andrew Tate of sexual assault and abuse say in a joint statement on Thursday that they are "in disbelief and feel traumatized again".
Andrew and Tristan Tate have strong support in right-wing social media and supported US President Donald Trump during his election campaign.
Trump's administration is said to have lobbied for Romanian authorities to ease the brothers' restrictions, according to several media reports.
When Trump was asked if he had anything to do with the brothers' arrival in the US, he claimed he didn't know anything about the matter.
The Romanian authority DIICOT, which investigates organized crime, has not disclosed who submitted the request for the brothers to be allowed to leave the country. The authority states, however, that a request to drop the investigations was denied.
They are expected to return to Romania at a later time.
Dual Citizenship
Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested in a suburb of Romania's capital Bucharest in December 2022. Both deny any wrongdoing and hold dual citizenship, in both the UK and the US.
A Romanian court decided last year that the two should be extradited to the UK, where they are also suspected of several crimes, but announced that the extradition could take several years due to the separate court case in Romania.
