Romanian court gives him a pass to leave the country

Former social media influencer Andrew Tate Tate was issued an arrest warrant on charges of human trafficking in Romania. The country is allowing him to leave its borders starting Friday (July 5), but Tate must remain in the European Union, according to the Associated Press.

RELATED: Disturbing Messages Allegedly Sent by Andrew Tate Revealed: 'The More You Disliked It, the More I Liked It'

More details on Romania's recent decision regarding Andrew Tate

Tate spokesperson, Mateea Petrescuwelcomed the decision of the Bucharest court to allow the 37-year-old to leave the country “A significant victory and a big step forward” in the case. One of Tate's other lawyers, Eugen Vidineac, also spoke out:

“We welcome and applaud the court's decision today, I see it as a reflection of the exemplary conduct and assistance of my clients,” he said. He added that the Tates were “still committed to clearing their name and reputation.”

Vidineac said the ability to travel within the 27-nation European bloc will allow the Tates to “pursue professional opportunities without restriction.”

It is not yet clear whether prosecutors can or will appeal the court’s decision. Tate’s 2022 arrest took place near Bucharest along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women. Romanian prosecutors formally charged the four men in June last year, and all four have denied the allegations.

Andrew responded to Friday's ruling on social media, writing: “I AM FREE. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 3 YEARS I CAN LEAVE ROMANIA. THE MALICIOUS BUSINESS IS COLLAPSING.”

Why is the influencer behind bars?

As a reminder, Andrew Tate is also accused of rape and creating a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. Romanian authorities initially arrested the former professional kickboxer and dual US-British citizen in December 2022.

In a separate case, Andrew Tate was served with a civil claim at his home in Romania by four British women after a complaint was filed in the High Court in London, according to a statement released in May by McCue Jury & Partners, the law firm representing the four women. The four women accuse Tate of sexually and physically assaulting them and reported him to British authorities in 2014 and 2015. After a four-year investigation, the Crown Prosecution Service decided in 2019 not to prosecute him.

Andrew Tate, who has 9.5 million followers on the social media platform X, has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy to silence him.

He had previously been banned from several social media platforms for allegedly expressing misogynistic views and engaging in hate speech.

Meanwhile, a trial against Tate was approved in April, but has not yet been scheduled. Once his trial in Romania is over, the UK will be allowed to extradite the Tates to face similar charges.

As a reminder, the Tate brothers also appeared in March before the Bucharest Court of Appeal. British authorities have issued arrest warrants following allegations of sexual assault in a British case dating back to 2012-2015.

RELATED: White West Virginia Couple Jailed on Charges of Human Trafficking Adopted Black Children

Associated Press writer Nicolae Dumitrache and Stephen McGrath contributed to this report.