The Trump administration has pressured Romanian authorities to lift travel restrictions on the self-described misogynist influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate.
The Tate brothers, who are dual US and UK nationals, were arrested in Romania in 2022 and charged with human trafficking, s£xual misconduct and money laundering, as well as starting an organised crime group. They have denied wrongdoing.
The Tates’ case was first brought up by US officials in a phone call with the Romanian government last week and then followed up by Trump’s special envoy Richard Grenell when he met the Romanian foreign minister at the Munich Security Conference, according to three people familiar with the matter.
A fourth person said a request was made to return the brothers’ passports and allow them to travel while they wait for court proceedings to conclude.
Romanian foreign minister Emil Hurezeanu declined to comment on his exchange with Grenell.
His spokesperson said Hurezeanu initiated the meeting and that they had “known each other for a long time” as they had both served as ambassadors in Berlin during the first Trump presidency.
The spokesperson did not comment on their specific discussions but said: “Romanian courts are independent and operate based on the law, there is due process.”
The Tate brothers have millions of online followers on their online platforms targeted at young men that promote male superiority and reject feminism — which played a role in Trump’s re-election.
Tristan Tate boasted on X in November about the brothers’ role in the US election, claiming that “millions of young men in Europe and the USA have a healthy rightwing approach to politics that they would NOT have if Andrew Tate had never appeared on their phone screens”.
The UK is also seeking the brothers’ extradition after police in Bedfordshire obtained an arrest warrant as part of an investigation into allegations of r@pe and human trafficking.
A Romanian court ruled last year that they can be extradited once there is a final decision in their case in Romania.
A separate civil lawsuit was filed last week by a woman in Florida, which alleged that the brothers coerced her into s£x work after having lured her to Romania and accused them of defaming her after she testified against them in Bucharest.