Influencer Andrew Tate will face extradition to Britain over sex offence accusations, but only after his separate case on human trafficking and other charges in Romania is finished, a judge ordered Tuesday.
US-born Briton Tate and his brother Tristan were released from Romanian custody following their arrest Monday on a UK warrant that came as they await trial on the Romanian charges.
The British warrant for the self-described misogynist with an online following in the millions stems from allegations made by four women who accused him of sexual assault in Britain.
The men will remain under Romanian court supervision, pending a new court decision expected on Wednesday.
During the Bucharest court hearing, Andrew Tate rejected the allegations brought against him in Britain as "sloppy" and "over 10 years old", saying he and his brother did not want to be extradited.
The appeals court ruling in Romania granted the handing over of the men on the Westminster Magistrates' Court warrant, but postponed extradition until the Romanian case's resolution, which could take years.
The brothers, who say they are innocent, are accused of having formed an organised criminal network in early 2021 in Romania, as well as in the United States and Britain.
They face charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal group to sexually exploit women.
They allegedly coerced women into forced labour and pornographic acts for "substantial financial benefits".
After Tuesday's ruling, the brothers' spokesperson Mateea Petrescu said the men would "continue to comply with the judiciary measures in place in Romania, which permit them to travel around the country".
They were previously in custody on the Romanian charges, but were ordered released under court supervisions in August 2023.
Petrescu said that the charges in the British case date back to 2012-2015 and "include allegations of sexual aggression".
The charges were "dismissed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in 2017-2019" but have now "resurfaced", Petrescu added.
Romanian authorities said in a statement they had executed "two European arrest warrants issued by the UK judicial authorities for the committing of sexual offences, of exploitation of persons on the territory of the UK".
- Potential escape plans -
Petrescu said that the 37-year-old former kickboxer and his brother Tristan, 35, "unequivocally deny all allegations and decry what they perceive as an exploitative use of the legal system".
In June 2023, lawyers for four women threatened Andrew Tate with a lawsuit in the British courts over allegations of sexual assault, serving him with legal papers by UK law firm McCue Jury and Partners.
The women, now in their late 20s and early 30s, say the offences took place in the 2010s, when Tate was based in Britain.
The British law firm representing the women said that the allegations included "violent rapes, serious physical assault, and controlling and coercive behaviour".
In a statement on Tuesday, the law firm welcomed their detention, citing recent information that they "might have been planning to flee Romania".
"We wrote to the British police to bring this to their attention and to urge them to immediately seek a warrant for Tate's detention in Romania and extradition to the UK," the firm added.
After the ruling, Petrescu dismissed the claim of such plans.
"We believe this rumour has originated from a popular online influencer who misconstrued a text message from our clients while streaming live. There is simply no truth to it," she said in a statement.
In 2016, Tate appeared on the "Big Brother" reality television show in Britain but was removed after a video emerged showing him attacking a woman.
He then turned to social media platforms to promote his divisive views.
Giving tips on how to be successful, along with misogynistic and sometimes violent maxims, Tate's videos have made him one of the world's best-known influencers.
His account "Cobratate" on X has almost nine million followers.
IOL