Romania court eases Andrew Tate's travel curbs, but rules out returning seized assets

Controversial media personality Andrew Tate is now free to travel anywhere in Romania, thanks to a court that eased the travel restrictions he faced due to the string of charges against him. However, the 36-year-old would still be unable to leave the southeastern European country. 

Until now, Tate had been barred from travelling outside Bucharest without a judge's permission since August after he faced charges for allegedly harassing women, engaging in human trafficking and rape, and creating an organised crime group. His brother Tristan, however, denies all allegations. 

Tate speaks to reporters after court hearing

On Tuesday, he told reporters who had gathered outside the court that "things are moving in the correct direction". "There's not a single video of an abused girl or one single statement against us. If you get too big and too successful, people are going to come and try and attack you," he warned as per SKY News.

In the Romanian court, Tate appealed to the judge if he could get back his assets that were seized in January. However, the court said that his confiscated cash, designer watches, and luxury cars that were worth €3.6 million will not be returned at least until November. 

Authorities suggest that the money can be used to compensate victims and pay for the investigation if Tate is found guilty. "They took a lot of stuff... 15 cars, and they took a lot of things of a lot of value. It'd be nice to get my things back," he told reporters later in the day. 

Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan were apprehended in December and imprisoned all the way until March. Earlier this year, they were later moved to house arrest and faced several charges in June. Tate rose to fame on social media through his controversial stance on feminism and masculinity. As a result of the backlash, he was banned from several social media platforms except for X, where he boasts a following of eight million.