“Spending $185,000 (£143,000) on a private jet across the Atlantic to sign one single piece of paper in Romania,” Andrew Tate posted to his 10.8 million followers on X. “Innocent men don’t run. They clear their name in court.”

The BBC understands the brothers will appear in court for a hearing on Monday. They strongly deny the allegations against them.

The brothers, who are dual US-UK citizens, arrived in the US at the end of February after Romanian prosecutors lifted a two-year travel ban.

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Andrew Tate, 38, is a self-proclaimed “misogynist” who claims to have made millions from social media despite being previously banned from platforms for his views.

He and his brother Tristan, 36, are accused of human trafficking and forming an organised group to sexually exploit women in Romania. Andrew Tate is also accused of rape.

The brothers are also the subjects of a separate investigation in the UK into allegations of rape and human trafficking.

In the US they face a civil case from a woman who alleges the brothers coerced her into sex work, and then defamed her after she gave evidence to Romanian authorities.

Romanian prosecutors stressed the case against the brothers had not been dropped and that they remain “under judicial control” – meaning they have to regularly report to authorities and are expected to return to Romania.

However, their exit sparked concerns that prosecutors felt political pressure from US President Donald Trump’s administration. The US president said he knew nothing about the Tate brothers being released from Romania.

The Tates have a large US following and are popular figures among some elements of the American right.

Earlier in February, some of Andrew Tate’s alleged victims said they were “extremely concerned” by reports that US officials had asked for his travel restrictions to be relaxed.

Andrew Tate was put under house arrest in Romania in August 2024 when prosecutors launched a second criminal investigation against himself and his brother Tristan, as well as four other suspects. They all deny wrongdoing.

Separately, the brothers are wanted in the UK to face allegations of sexual assault, which they also deny.

The brothers have also been accused of tax evasion in the UK. A British court ruled in December 2024 that police could seize more than £2m ($2.4m) from them for failing to pay tax on £21m in revenue from their online businesses.

Andrew Tate said the ruling was “not justice” and called it a “co-ordinated attack”.

British-American influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan said on Friday they have left the US and are flying back to Romania, where they face human trafficking and other charges.

“Spending $185,000 (£143,000) on a private jet across the Atlantic to sign one single piece of paper in Romania,” Andrew Tate posted to his 10.8 million followers on X. “Innocent men don’t run. They clear their name in court.”

The BBC understands the brothers will appear in court for a hearing on Monday. They strongly deny the allegations against them.

The brothers, who are dual US-UK citizens, arrived in the US at the end of February after Romanian prosecutors lifted a two-year travel ban.

Andrew Tate, 38, is a self-proclaimed “misogynist” who claims to have made millions from social media despite being previously banned from platforms for his views.

He and his brother Tristan, 36, are accused of human trafficking and forming an organised group to sexually exploit women in Romania. Andrew Tate is also accused of rape.

The brothers are also the subjects of a separate investigation in the UK into allegations of rape and human trafficking.

In the US they face a civil case from a woman who alleges the brothers coerced her into sex work, and then defamed her after she gave evidence to Romanian authorities.

Romanian prosecutors stressed the case against the brothers had not been dropped and that they remain “under judicial control” – meaning they have to regularly report to authorities and are expected to return to Romania.

However, their exit sparked concerns that prosecutors felt political pressure from US President Donald Trump’s administration. The US president said he knew nothing about the Tate brothers being released from Romania.

The Tates have a large US following and are popular figures among some elements of the American right.

Earlier in February, some of Andrew Tate’s alleged victims said they were “extremely concerned” by reports that US officials had asked for his travel restrictions to be relaxed.

Andrew Tate was put under house arrest in Romania in August 2024 when prosecutors launched a second criminal investigation against himself and his brother Tristan, as well as four other suspects. They all deny wrongdoing.

Separately, the brothers are wanted in the UK to face allegations of sexual assault, which they also deny.

The brothers have also been accused of tax evasion in the UK. A British court ruled in December 2024 that police could seize more than £2m ($2.4m) from them for failing to pay tax on £21m in revenue from their online businesses.

Andrew Tate said the ruling was “not justice” and called it a “co-ordinated attack”.

Constitutional court judges will meet on Tuesday afternoon to discuss Georgescu’s appeal, and a final ruling should be issued the same day.

The BEC rejected his candidacy on Sunday after a 10-4 vote, saying it did not “meet the conditions of legality”, as Georgescu “violated the very obligation to defend democracy”.

Last year, the court annulled November’s first round of the vote – in which Georgescu came first – after intelligence revealed Russia had been involved in 800 TikTok accounts backing him.

In his appeal, Georgescu said that the “BEC exceeded its legal powers”. He also argued that the constitutional court’s decision on the November election should have no bearing on his candidacy for the upcoming vote in May.

In a social media post, Georgescu also called the ban a “direct blow to the heart of democracy worldwide”.

The electoral bureau’s decision sparked unrest in Bucharest on Sunday evening. Clashes broke out between police and Georgescu supporters who had gathered in their thousands outside the offices of the BEC.

The BBC saw at least one car turned over, and the windows of neighbouring bars smashed. At least four people were detained.

Georgescu put out a video on social media thanking the Romanian people but adding that “we should not give birth to violence or other forms of this kind compared to how it was last night. We are moving forward with great confidence for the future of this country”.

A few hundred demonstrators gathered in the city centre on Monday evening, many of them waving Romania’s national flag. There was no repeat of the clashes on Sunday night.

The crowd stood behind fences set up by police, chanting their anger at the constitutional court inside the giant building across the road.

“The court has to defend our democracy and our constitution. But they don’t do this,” Eugen told the BBC, arguing that the court’s election rulings have been politicised. “They lost their meaning.”

Around him, the crowd burst into regular chants of “Romania wake up”, “The Constitutional Court is Garbage!” and “Georgescu is our president!”.

Some voiced conspiracy theories about the Covid pandemic, like Georgescu does. One young man, his face covered “for security” was openly homophobic, saying that the far-right politician appealed to his own “conservative” and “orthodox” views.

Another group described themselves as “hooligans” and didn’t want to speak on camera.

The grievances were varied, but all talked of their disillusion with a ruling class they called corrupt and far from the people.

“They sold out our country. We have to send our kids abroad for work. We can’t be successful and have a family here. They destroyed that. But they can’t take our right to vote,” factory worker Elena told the BBC.

Like several people we spoke to, Elena did not vote for Calin Georgescu in the first round of presidential elections in November, which was later overturned. At that point, she had not heard of him.

But the controversy over the cancelled vote has propelled the far-right populist into the spotlight and increased his support.

Now the crowd want him reinstated as a candidate.

George Simion, an ally of Georgescu and the leader of the far-right opposition Alliance for Uniting Romanians (AUR), parliament’s second-largest party, said on Monday that Romania was in “the midst of a coup d’état”.

In a video on Sunday night, Simion called for “those who committed the coup to be skinned in public for what they did… Whether you like Calin Georgescu or not, he is the man Romanians voted for”.

The Romanian prosecutor general has opened a case against Simion for instigation of violence, and on Monday he rowed back on the comments, saying he was using a “metaphor”.

On 26 February, Georgescu was detained for questioning on his way to register as a candidate in the May election, prompting tens of thousands of Romanians to march on Bucharest’s streets in protest.

Georgescu – a fierce EU and Nato critic – came out of almost nowhere last year to lead the first round two weeks ago amid allegations of Russian interference. He has since seen some support from the Trump administration.

Last month, US Vice-President JD Vance accused Romania of annulling the elections based on the “flimsy suspicions” of Romanian intelligence and pressure from its neighbours.

And Trump adviser Elon Musk posted on X, saying: “How can a judge end democracy in Romania?”

Last year, Romania’s constitutional court annulled November’s first round of the vote – in which he came first – after intelligence revealed Russia had been involved in 800 TikTok accounts backing him.

The BEC rejected his candidacy on Sunday, saying it “doesn’t meet the conditions of legality”, as he “violated the very obligation to defend democracy”.

Georgescu called that decision a “direct blow” to democracy. He now has 24 hours from Sunday’s verdict to submit an official appeal to the top court, which should issue a ruling within 72 hours.

In a social media post, Georgescu called the ban a “direct blow to the heart of democracy worldwide”.

Tear gas was fired at supporters of the presidential hopeful as violence broke out between them and police while they gathered in their thousandsoutside the offices of the BEC in the capital Bucharest.

The BBC saw at least one car turned over, and the windows of neighbouring bars smashed. At least four people were detained.

While many protesters left the scene, several hundred people remained and continued to fight with riot police, who brought in reinforcements and attempted to cordon off the area.

On 26 February, Georgescu was arrested on his way to register as a candidate in the summer election, prompting tens of thousands of Romanians to march on Bucharest’s streets in protest.

He was charged with attempting to overthrow constitutional order and membership of a neo-fascist organisation. He has denied all wrongdoing.

The 62-year-old independent came from nowhere to win the first round of last year’s election, the results of which were annulled just days before the second round of voting.

One key to his sudden popularity was his promise to “restore Romania’s dignity” and end subservience to the international organisations it belongs to, including Nato and the EU.

Before last year’s annulment, the pro-Russian politician told the BBC he would end all support for Ukraine if he was elected.

Georgescu has also seen some support from the Trump administration.

Last month, US Vice-President JD Vance accused Romania of annulling the elections based on the “flimsy suspicions” of Romanian intelligence and pressure from its neighbours.

Meanwhile, Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu accused Elon Musk of a “form of interference” in Romania’s elections, after the billionaire posted several messages of support for Georgescu.

Calin Georgescu was picked up on his way to register as a candidate, and he was later charged with attempting to overthrow the constitutional order, as well as membership of a neo-fascist organisation.

“Georgescu’s mentality is the same as the mentality of Trump,” said Lavinia approvingly, as she steered her three-year-old daughter’s pushchair through a sea of Romanian tricolour flags.

“He will listen to our opinion, just as we listen to him. We came here today for freedom, and democracy.”

On the day of Georgescu’s arrest came an unexpected twist.

Guns, grenade launchers, and gold bullion buried beneath the floorboards were found in raids on 47 properties by Romanian police targeting a network, allegedly run by a former French legionnaire and militia chief in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Horatiu Potra’s current whereabouts are unknown, but his alleged links to Georgescu have only added to the intrigue.

While Horatiu Potra has admitted to illegal possession of weapons, Georgescu has denied all wrongdoing.

In just three months, Romania has gone from a stable and loyal member of the European Union and Nato, to a country where a far-right, pro-Russia figure has come from almost nowhere to become favourite for the presidency.

Georgescu led the first round of last December’s election, but the run-off vote was then annulled after Romanian intelligence revealed Russia had been involved in 800 TikTok accounts backing him.

The election is being rerun on 4 and 18 May.

For Georgescu’s critics, photographs of the weapons cache are the ultimate proof of his danger to the republic.

For his supporters, they’re the latest bout of mud-slinging, the doomed attempt of a corrupt regime to resist inevitable, Trump-inspired change.

At the roadside, a lone busker played the same tune over and over again on an electric piano, as a sea of protesters passed by.

“We are talking about the freedom to choose our own president,” said Oana Eftimie, vice-president of the Patriotic Party of Romanians, another right-wing grouping.

One of the peculiarities of the Calin Georgescu phenomenon, is that he seems to have reached beyond existing nationalist parties like AUR, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, which won 18% and 63 seats in the House of Deputies in the Parliamentary elections on 1 December.

Some polls put him as high as 40%.

Georgescu has eclipsed both the firebrand AUR leader, George Simion, and the leader of SOS Romania, Diana Sosoaca.

Oana Eftimie dismisses the charges against Georgescu, and some of his backers, as reheated slanders:

“He was prosecuted for all that before, and the case was closed last year for lack of evidence. So he’s not a fascist, we’re not fascists, we’re just normal people wanting to be able to choose our leader, and exhausted with those that are in power now.”

In a quiet flat not far from the noisy marchers, Elena Calistru, president of Funky Citizens, a liberal-minded, non-governmental organisation, admits that the protesters’ anguish about a corrupt, complacent elite, has some basis in fact.

“But if you have a house and the roof is leaking. You don’t burn down the house. You fix the roof, right?

“Unfortunately for us though, the malaise that we see all over Europe, the lack of leadership, the lack of politicians capable of talking to the general public without trying to compete with the populists, is also present in Romania.”

As a loyal US ally, Romanian military analysts are holding their breath over the fate of substantial US military infrastructure in Romania, which includes 4,500 US personnel. “Dacian Spring”, a major Nato exercise scheduled for the spring, has been postponed until after the May elections.

Candidates have until 15 March to register their candidacy for the presidential elections. If the Romanian Constitutional Court rules that Georgescu cannot stand, because of the charges levelled against him, how will the Americans react?

US Vice-President JD Vance made an apparent criticism of Romania at the Munich Security Conference last month.

“If your democracy can be destroyed with a few hundred thousand dollars of digital advertising from a foreign country then it wasn’t very strong to begin with.”

“Now, the good news is that I happen to think your democracies are substantially less brittle than many people apparently fear”, added Vance.

Romanians on both sides of the political spectrum seem unconvinced.

The brothers – who are currently facing charges including human trafficking in Romania – had been under a travel ban for more than two years before it was lifted, allowing them to fly to the US.

Marinescu has asked the special prosecution service, Diicot, to “conduct any investigation necessary to uncover the truth promptly, correctly, and impartially”.

Andrew, 38, and his brother Tristan, 36, have strongly denied the allegations against them.

The brothers are dual US-UK citizens, and were first arrested in Romania in 2022, where they are accused of human trafficking and forming an organised group to sexually exploit women. Andrew Tate is also accused of rape.

They spent several months under house arrest in Romania, before prosecutors announced on Thursday that the travel ban had been lifted and the pair’s US passports had been returned to them.

Despite this, investigations into their alleged crimes have not been dropped and they are expected to return to Romania.

In the US they also face a civil case from a woman who alleges the brothers coerced her into sex work, and then defamed her after she gave evidence to Romanian authorities.

The brothers also face separate charges in the UK of rape and human trafficking.

On Friday, four British women who have accused Andrew Tate of rape and coercive control urged the UK government to “immediately request Tate’s extradition from the US to the UK to face justice”.

They said in a joint statement that if it did not, “it won’t just be us it will be failing, but all British victims of alleged sexual violence”.

They added: “We do not doubt the home secretary’s personal commitment to victims of sexual violence, but we need action, not words.”

The brothers’ exit has sparked concerns that Romanian prosecutors felt political pressure from the Trump administration. On Thursday, the US president said he knew nothing about their release.

Romania’s justice minister said the Tate brothers “risk pre-trial detention” if they fail to return to Romania to face continued investigation in the cases against them.

But international human rights lawyer Silvia Tabusca, who has been following the proceedings, does not believe the brothers will return to Romania.

She told the BBC Andrew Tate was “technically correct” when, upon arriving in Florida, he said there was no live indictment against him and his brother, because a second case has not yet been presented to a judge.

In December 2024, the Court of Appeals in Bucharest ruled that an original indictment – the first case – which was issued in June 2023 could not proceed to trial in its current form.

In August, Romanian authorities began a second investigation over new allegations of trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering.

When both cases have been submitted to the court, they will become live.

“It’s actually a sort of lull in the two cases against them,” Ms Tabusca explained.

“A big question mark hangs over whether they will ever return there to face trial, what the US government would do in such a situation, and what pressure the UK government is putting on the US to extradite them to the UK to face trial on another set of charges there.”

Romania’s justice minister said the Tate brothers “risk pre-trial detention” if they fail to return to Romania to face continued investigation in the cases against them.

“There are legal mechanisms in place to resolve this situation,” Marinescu said, which could be a reference to the extradition treaty between the US and Romania.

Calls for a public explanation of why their travel ban was lifted comes as many Romanians express concern that there appears to be one law for the rich and influential, and another for ordinary citizens.

Questions remain about why they were allowed to travel and what happens next with their legal cases.

Andrew Tate, 38, and his brother Tristan, 36, are dual US-UK citizens who claim to have made millions from their social media empire.

Their online output was controversial even before their legal troubles, with the pair attracting frequent criticism over offensive statements about women.

Police in the UK have linked Andrew Tate to the “quite terrifying” radicalisation of boys and young men in a 2024 report into violence against women and girls.

The brothers were first arrested in Romania in 2022. They are facing separate, unrelated charges of rape and human trafficking in the UK. Both brothers also deny the charges against them in the UK.

The brothers had been under a travel ban in Romania for more than two years while they were under investigation.

Speculation that they would leave Romania had been mounting ahead of their journey, after the pair went quiet on social media.

They left from a Bucharest airport at around 03:00 local time (05:00 GMT) on a private jet bound for Florida, sources have told the BBC.

Prosecutors said the travel ban had been lifted, and the pair’s US passports had been returned to them, but investigations into their alleged crimes have not been dropped.

The Tates have a large US following and are popular figures on the American right.

Earlier in February, some of Andrew Tate’s alleged victims said they were “extremely concerned” by reports that US officials had asked for his travel restrictions to be relaxed.

It came after US special envoy Richard Grenell raised the Tate brothers with Romania’s Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu at the Munich Security Conference.

Hurezeanu said he had not considered Grenell’s approach as a “form of pressure”. Grenell told the Financial Times his support for the brothers was evident.

The Tates have been a vocal supporters of US President Donald Trump, while his close adviser, Elon Musk, restored Andrew Tate’s account on X after he bought the social media platform in 2022.

Andrew and Tristan Tate have not yet commented on their trip to the US, and neither has the Trump administration.

The cases against the Tate brothers in Romania are now being rewritten by prosecutors, who allowed them to leave the country on the condition that they return – possibly as early as the end of March.

The pair’s request to leave the country was accepted, prosecutors said, but their request for the charges against them to be dropped was rejected.

The brothers face a number of civic and criminal legal cases.

The pair were charged with human trafficking and rape along with two Romanian female suspects in June 2023. They deny the charges.

They face separate, unrelated charges of rape and human trafficking in the UK. Last year, a Romanian court ruled they could be extradited to the UK after their case in Romania concludes.

Separately, lawyers for four women who claim they were assaulted by the Tates said they were bringing a civil case against him at the High Court in the UK for “damages for injuries they suffered as a result”.

A representative for the Tate brothers said in response that they “unequivocally deny all allegations”.

A separate civil case in the UK, which the brothers are contesting, accuses the brothers and a third individual of being serial tax evaders.

Four women who allege they were sexually abused by Andrew Tate have said they are in “disbelief and feel re-traumatised” by news of him leaving Romania.

In a joint statement, the four said: “It is clear that he will now not face criminal prosecution for his alleged crimes in Romania; he will use it as an opportunity to harass further and intimidate witnesses and his accusers, and he will continue to spread his violent, misogynistic doctrine around the world.”

They also urged British authorities to “finally take action, do something about this terrifying unfolding situation and ensure he faces justice in the UK”.

Matthew Jury, a lawyer representing the four alleged victims, told the BBC the Trump administration was “interfering in due process” in Romania and the UK.

Georgescu was stopped in traffic in the capital, Bucharest, on his way to register as a candidate for new elections in May, after last December’s second-round run-off was annulled by the constitutional court.

Prosecutors said one of the charges involved attempted “incitement to actions against the constitutional order”.

Two right-wing populist parties said they were mobilising their supporters to head for the prosecutor’s office, where Georgescu was taken for questioning.

Police were seen erecting barriers around the building and hundreds of demonstrators gathered to protest.

Prosecutors said Georgescu was also being investigated for giving “false information, false statements” and for setting up an organisation with “fascist, racist or xenophobic characteristics” as well as forming an antisemitic organisation.

The severity of the indictment could jeopardise Georgescu’s bid to run in the presidential election on 4 and 18 May.

He has been placed under judicial control and told not to leave Romania, according to reports. As he left the prosecutor’s office, Georgescu told supporters he would continue to fight and that there was “no difference between the communist mentality and system [that collapsed in 1989] and now”.

The original presidential vote was cancelled before the second round last December, after the then president, Klaus Iohannis declassified intelligence documents that suggested that hundreds of TikTok accounts had been activated backing Georgescu.

Romanian foreign intelligence said Russia had been behind the move, as well as thousands of cyber-attacks and other sabotage.

Iohannis had decided to stay in office until a successor was elected, but he resigned earlier this month ahead of an impeachment vote.

Opposition politicians had at the time accused Iohannis of an undemocratic move, and Georgescu’s communications team repeated the claim against prosecutors.

“Where is democracy now?” they posted on X on Wednesday, tagging President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and US Vice-President JD Vance.

Earlier this month, the US vice-president accused Romania of annulling the elections based on “flimsy suspicions” of Romanian intelligence and pressure from its neighbours.

Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu accused Elon Musk of a “form of interference” in Romania’s elections, after the billionaire posted several messages of support for Georgescu.

Georgescu’s hopes of running for the presidency may end up at the constitutional court, which barred another far-right, pro-Russian candidate from running last year.

The decision to turn down Diana Sosoaca’s candidacy because of her views was widely criticised in Romania.

Romania is a vital part of Nato’s eastern flank as well as being a member of the European Union.

Calin Georgescu has been accused of being pro-Russian and he has praised Romania’s fascist and nationalist leaders from the last century as heroes.

He denied he was “Moscow’s man”, in a BBC interview last year, but referred to Vladimir Putin as a “patriot and a leader” while pointing out “I am not a fan”.

Meanwhile, Romanian police said they had carried out raids in several counties around the country, targeting 27 individuals as part of a criminal case relating to the creation of an organisation “with a fascist, racist or xenophobic nature”.

Investigations were also being conducted into false statements regarding the sources of election campaign funding, police said.

The statement made no mention of Georgescu himself and it was not clear if the raids were linked, however he said he was fighting a security system “that wants us in slavery”.

Andrew Tate, 38, and his brother Tristan, 36, left Bucharest on a private jet early on Thursday. Both deny the allegations against them.

Romanian prosecutors stressed the case against them had not been dropped and they would be expected to return, understood to be at the end of next month.

However, their decision has raised concern that they came under pressure from leading figures in the Trump administration, with one leading Romanian politician saying she was outraged.

The brothers are facing separate, unrelated charges in the UK over allegations of rape and human trafficking, which they also deny. A separate, civil case has been opened in the US.

Romanian reports said they were heading to Fort Lauderdale in Florida on a non-stop flight that would take 12 hours, however the Tates’ lawyer in Bucharest denied to the BBC that was their destination.

The Tate brothers were first arrested in Romania in December 2022. The elder of the two, a former kickboxer who appeared on UK TV show Big Brother, was later accused of rape and human trafficking while his brother was suspected of human trafficking.

They both denied those charges and spent several months under house arrest. A year later, in August 2024, they faced new allegations including sex with a minor and trafficking underage persons.

Andrew Tate is a self-described misogynist who has attracted millions of followers online, despite being previously banned from social media platforms for expressing his views.

He moved from the UK to Romania several years ago, however police in Bedfordshire are still seeking his extradition on separate and unrelated allegations of rape and human trafficking, as well as tax evasion.

Thursday’s decision by Romanian prosecutors to lift the ban on the Tates leaving the country is believed to have come in the wake of comments from figures in the Trump administration earlier this month.

The Tates have regularly posted messages in support of US President Donald Trump, and Tristan Tate has said his brother’s role in persuading “millions of young men” to back him “cannot be overlooked”.

Romania’s Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu told Romanian TV that Trump’s special envoy, Richard Grenell, had brought up the issue of the Tate brothers during a conversation at the Munich Security Conference earlier in February.

Hurezeanu said his discussion with Trump’s envoy had only been an informal one and he had not considered Grenell’s approach as a “form of pressure”. Grenell told the Financial Times his support for the brothers was evident from his “publicly available tweets”.

Four British women have also taken out a civil case against Andrew Tate at the UK High Court, alleging that he raped and coercively controlled them. Tate denies their allegations.

They said it was clear he would not face criminal prosecution in Romania and appealed to UK authorities to take action.

“We are in disbelief and feel re-traumatised by the news that the Romanian authorities have given into pressure from the Trump administration to allow Andrew Tate to travel around Europe and to the US,” the women said in a statement.

Elena Lasconi, who is running for the Romanian presidency in May’s elections, six months after they were controversially cancelled, has called for the immediate resignation of the head of Romania’s organised crime investigations directorate DIICOT, which made the decision to let the brothers leave.

“I am outraged!” she wrote on social media, “as a woman, a human being and a Romanian.” Lasconi said prosecutors should explain publicly whether their decision came as a result of external pressure.

Prosecutors from DIICOT have emphasised that the judicial conditions for the brothers have not changed.

Any violation of those obligations made in bad faith “may lead to the replacement of judicial control with a higher measure of deprivation of liberty”, it said in a sta.tement in Romanian.

The Tates are understood to be required to return to Bucharest at the end of March to satisfy the prosecutors’ terms, however it is too early to say whether they will comply with them.

Romania is both a member of the European Union and a key Nato member state on the Western alliance’s eastern flank.

Senior Trump figures have also had the government in Bucharest in their sights over the court ruling that annulled last December’s presidential election. Romanian intelligence services said far-right candidate Calin Georgescu had been supported by a flurry of TikTok accounts engineered by Russia.

Georgescu was indicted on Wednesday for attempted “incitement to acts against the constitutional order”.

Georgescu was stopped in traffic in the capital, Bucharest, on Wednesday.

His supporters said he was on his way to submit his candidacy for new elections in May, after last December’s second-round run-off was annulled by the constitutional court.

Two right-wing populist parties said they were mobilising their supporters to head for the prosecutor’s office, where Georgescu was taken for questioning.

Romanian reports said police were erecting barriers around the building and that dozens of demonstrators had gathered to protest.

Prosecutors have made a series of allegations against Georgescu, according to Romanian media, including acts against the constitutional order and involvement in an extremist organisation.

Populist opposition parties had earlier filed a no-confidence motion against Romania’s democratically elected pro-European government.

Romania’s outgoing president, Klaus Iohannis, resigned earlier this month ahead of an impeachment vote prompted by the cancelled December election. He had decided to stay in office until a successor was elected in May.

Before the second round of the election was annulled in December, Iohannis declassified intelligence documents that suggested that hundreds of TikTok accounts had been activated backing Georgescu.

Romanian foreign intelligence said Russia had been behind that move, as well as thousands of cyber-attacks and other sabotage.

Opposition politicians had at the time accused Iohannis of an undemocratic move, and Georgescu’s communications team repeated the claim against prosecutors.

“Where is democracy now?” they posted on X on Wednesday, tagging President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and US Vice-President JD Vance.

Earlier this month, Vance had accused Romania of annulling the elections based on “flimsy suspicions” of Romanian intelligence and pressure from its neighbours.

Romania is a vital part of Nato’s eastern flank as well as being a member of the European Union.

Meanwhile, Romanian police said they had carried out raids in several counties around the country, targeting 27 individuals as part of a criminal case relating to the creation of an organisation “with a fascist, racist or xenophobic nature”.

Investigations were also being conducted into false statements regarding the sources of election campaign funding, police said.

The statement made no mention of Georgescu himself and it was not clear if the raids were linked.

Georgescu has been accused of being pro-Russian and he has praised Romania’s fascist and nationalist leaders from the last century as heroes.

He denied he was “Moscow’s man”, in a BBC interview last year, but referred to Vladimir Putin as a “patriot and a leader” while pointing out “I am not a fan”.

Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu accused Elon Musk of a “form of interference” in Romania’s elections, after the billionaire posted several messages of support for Georgescu.

The women said they were “extremely concerned” by reports that US officials had asked Romania to relax travel restrictions against Tate and his brother, Tristan Tate, who have dual UK-US nationality.

Lawyer Matthew Jury, who is representing the four alleged victims, told the BBC they were “absolutely bewildered why the Trump administration has decided to interfere in this way”.

Tate, 38, and his brother were arrested in Romania three years ago and face trial on allegations of rape, trafficking minors and money laundering, all of which they deny.

Separately, the brothers are wanted by police in the UK over allegations of rape and human trafficking, which they also deny. Their extradition to the UK will be dealt with once the Romania case finishes.

The Financial Times newspaper first reported that US officials had brought up the case with the Romanian government last week, and it was then followed up by Trump’s envoy Richard Grenell at the weekend.

One source told the paper that a request had been made by the US to return the brothers’ passports to them so they could travel while waiting for the criminal case against them to finish.

The Tate brothers are currently banned from leaving Romania, although are no longer under house arrest.

Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu confirmed to Euronews that Grenell had raised Tate’s case with him, and that Grenell had said he was “interested in the fate of the Tate brothers”. The minister denied this amounted to pressure from Americans.

A spokesperson for Mr Hurezeanu told the Financial Times: “Romanian courts are independent and operate based on the law, there is due process.”

According to the newspaper, Grenell said he had no “substantive conversation” with Hurezeanu, but added: “I support the Tate brothers as evident by my publicly available tweets.”

The Tate brothers have wide support on right-wing social media, and supported Trump during the US election campaign.

Lawyer Mr Jury said: “It’s very clear from members of the Trump administration’s social media posts and public statements that there is a great deal of support for Tate.

“Either they don’t know or they don’t care about the nature of the allegations and how serious they are,” he told BBC Newsnight.

He said the women he represented were “absolutely distraught”.

“To see the most powerful man in the world support their alleged abuser, is incredibly traumatising… it’s gaslighting of a sort.”

And he called the reported US actions a “gross interference in my clients’ right to a fair trial and due process”.

Mr Jury is representing the four women in a civil case against Tate at the High Court in the UK, after the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute their case. The Tate brothers deny the claims.

The civil case is separate to the criminal allegations currently being investigated by British police.

In their statement, the four women added: “We hope that the Romanian and the UK authorities will be left alone to do their jobs.”

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick also warned the US not to interfere, saying the Tate brothers “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.”

Tate is a self-described misogynist and has previously been banned from social media platforms for expressing those views.

A former kickboxer, he has gained millions of followers online and has lived in Romania for a number of years, having previously been based in the UK.