Alleged victims of Andrew Tate have urged the US to stay out of the case against him in Romania after the Trump administration reportedly pressed the Romanian government to lift his travel restrictions.
Four women who allege they were raped and coercively controlled by Tate said in a statement that they were “extremely concerned about reports that figures in Donald Trump’s administration are pressuring the Romanian authorities to relax travel restrictions on Andrew Tate and his brother”.
They added: “We hope that the Romanian and the UK authorities will be left alone to do their jobs.”
US officials brought up the brothers’ case in a phone call with the Romanian government last week 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 the criminal proceedings, the paper reported, citing a source.
A Romanian court has granted a British request to extradite the Tates, who are British citizens, but only after legal proceedings in Romania have concluded.
The women’s lawyer Matthew Jury said the reported behaviour from the Trump administration therefore constitutes interference in due process in the UK.
He added that it would be “embarrassing for the UK Government and a complete abdication of its responsibility” if it “stands by and lets this continue”.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick urged Sir Keir Starmer’s Government to make clear to the US that UK authorities should face “no obstacles” in bringing them back to Britain to face allegations there.
“The Tate brothers stand accused of rape and trafficking in the UK and our police are working to extradite them from Romania,” he posted on X.
“They must face our justice system. No obstacles should be placed in the way of UK authorities. The Government must make that clear to US counterparts.”
The Tate brothers stand accused of rape and trafficking in the UK and our police are working to extradite them from Romania.
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) February 18, 2025
They must face our justice system. No obstacles should be placed in the way of UK authorities.
The Government must make that clear to US counterparts. pic.twitter.com/gDpOlMDiAP
The four women are bringing a case against Tate at the High Court in the UK after the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute in 2019.
Tate, 37, and his brother Tristan Tate were initially arrested in December 2022 near Bucharest.
In Romania, they are facing allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering. A separate case against them, in which they are accused of human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, has been sent back to prosecutors.
In the UK, Bedfordshire Police secured a European arrest warrant for separate allegations of rape and human trafficking.
Those allegations, which the two brothers “unequivocally deny”, date back to 2012-2015.
