The Tate brothers arrived at the police station in Voluntari on Monday with five bodyguards in tow.

They reported to the police in compliance with judicial control requirements relating to a case against them.

Once they were finished, they addressed waiting journalists in what was like a new episode in their toxic masculinity reality show.

Andrew, the older of the two, warned the press that they would leave immediately if no "respectful questions" were asked.

"I am one of the most important people in the world," he boasted, adding that this was why he is being "investigated anywhere on the planet."

He later posted a video on social media showing himself racing through the Romanian capital in a supercar at 150 kilometers per hour (almost 95 mph).

Unexpected departure, unexpected return

The police station in question is situated in Voluntari, an affluent suburb in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, where the Tate brothers live in a luxury villa.

Andrew and Tristan Tate (aged 38 and 36 respectively) are both dual American and British citizens, social media influencers, self-declared misogynists and former kickboxers. They returned to Romania last weekend after spending several weeks in the US.

They have been charged in Romania with kidnapping, coercing and raping at least 34 women, including a minor, and setting up a criminal organization. They have been in custody several times since 2022 and spent a considerable amount of time under house arrest. 

The brothers are also wanted by UK authorities, who have filed an extradition request over allegations of sexual aggression in a case dating back to 2012.

Then, at the end of February, they were suddenly allowed to travel to the US after a court in Bucharest lifted a travel ban on them.

A video of them leaving Bucharest Airport — which is officially closed at night — in a luxury private jet in the middle of the night was posted on social media.

No reasons given by authorities

When questioned by journalists, Romania's Justice Minister Radu Marinescu was unable to explain why the Tates had been allowed to leave the country.

"It is in their best interest to return," he said at the time, because, he added, they claimed to be innocent and because an additional case could be brought against them if they didn't.

Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), which is responsible for the case, said that the brothers had applied for permission to leave the country and that a public prosecutor had approved the application.

Neither the reason for the application nor the name of the prosecutor in question have been made public.

'Innocent men don't run'

Last Saturday, the brothers did indeed leave Florida and return — once again boarding a private jet. Before leaving the US, Andrew Tate posted on X that he was "spending 185,000 dollars on a private jet across the Atlantic to sign one single piece of paper in Romania," adding "innocent men don't run. They clear their name in court."

In the Tates' case, "clearing their name" would appear to mean using delay tactics and tricks to stall the case against them.

The Tate brothers made their millions with misogynist online videos, casinos and fee-paying online courses.

It is also claimed that they earned money by sexually exploiting women through video chats on porn platforms and dealing in drugs. They moved to Romania in 2016 after Andrew Tate had been arrested several times in the UK on charges of rape.

Postponed proceedings

Investigations into the two brothers have been ongoing in Romania since early 2022.

Romania's public prosecutor suspects the Tates of setting up a criminal organization in Romania in early 2021 for the purposes of sexually exploiting women and girls from various countries on online platforms.

According to the indictment, the victims were lured to Romania, where they were "sexually exploited by members of the group using physical violence and psychological pressure — intimidation, constant surveillance, control and claims of alleged debts."

The case has dragged on since then. Romanian judges postponed a decision about the start of the case against the brothers a total of six times before eventually sending the case back to prosecutors, a delay tactic often used in the Romanian judicial system.

In such cases, it is often assumed that outside influence has been exerted on the court. So far, however, there is no evidence that the Tates bribed politicians or civil servants in the judiciary.

What is certain, however, is that the Court of Appeal in Bucharest last year removed several pieces of evidence from the case and referred it back to the public prosecutor last December, which essentially means that the investigation is back to square one.

'Not welcome' in Florida

Originally, the Tate Brothers, who are vocal in their support for US President Donald Trump, must have hoped that they would be able to leave Romania for the US after Trump was inaugurated and, once there, would be safe from further indictments.

Romania's Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu admitted that Trump's special envoy Richard Grenell had spoken to him about the Tate case at the Munich Security Conference in February 2025 and said that the US is "still interested in the fate of the Tate brothers."

Hurezeanu denied, however, that pressure had been exerted on Romania. Nevertheless, the Tate brothers were allowed to leave the country a short time later.

However, they did not receive the hero's welcome that Andrew Tate had obviously expected.

Republican Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis said that the Tate brothers were "not welcome" in his state.

Then, on March 5, Florida's Attorney General James Uthmeier said that his office had opened a criminal investigation into the brothers because "Florida has zero tolerance for human trafficking and violence against women."

President Trump did not signal any goodwill towards the Tate brothers either. Speaking at a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer the day after the Tates landed in Florida, Trump said he knew "nothing" about their case.

Will things be easier for the Tates in Romania?

It is possible that the Tate Brothers came to the conclusion that facing the courts would be easier for them in Romania than in the US.

Not only have they apparently been able to stave off the Romanian judiciary for some time, but Romania has for years had the worst track record in the EU in terms of the number of victims of human trafficking.

According to European Commission figures, about 3,000 of the 7,000 women who fall victim to trafficking in the EU every year come from Romania.

The Romanian police are often accused of turning a blind eye to misogynist crimes — as would appear to be the case with the Tates.

A young woman has claimed that when she managed to escape a video chat studio in the Tates' luxury villa in October 2021 and reported the matter to the police, officers tried to persuade her to go back. She says her report was noted, but never acted on.

This story casts a more cynical light on what Andrew Tate said outside the police station in Voluntari on Monday: "I'm glad to be back in Romania," he said. "I love Romania very much."

This article was originally published in German and adapted by Aingeal Flanagan.