The accusations hurled at controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate have now leveled up. From rape to organized crime groups, he is now charged with human trafficking together with Tristan, his brother, and two more colleagues.
The Tate brothers and their associates have been under house arrest in Bucharest since April.
They have denied all allegations thrown at them.
Tate and human trafficking
To inform them of the new charges, all four suspects were summoned to the organized crime unit’s headquarters in Romania on June 12. Human trafficking is punishable in Romania by a maximum 10-year prison term.
The Tate brothers’ friend, Vlad Obuzic, a Romanian, is the subject of a separate criminal investigation, according to the prosecution.
Seven women were allegedly lured and forced to create pornographic content for social media sites under the control of Mr Obuzic and his criminal group, with the suspects keeping the majority of the profits.
“They were forced to tattoo the name or face of the group member exploiting them,” prosecutors said in a statement. “This was done to ensure the victims’ loyalty and that they will perform only to the benefit of the members of the group.”
Later this month, Romanian prosecutors are anticipated to issue an indictment, which would serve as the formal complaint made against the brothers and their friends and serve as the beginning of a trial.
Maintaining innocence
Millions of people follow Mr. Tate online. Young males who are lured to his hyper-macho look to find his content to be particularly popular.
Early in June, Mr. Tate denied encouraging misogyny in a BBC News interview and defended his reputation.
He also denied the testimony of specific women who have accused him of rape and exploitation and are a part of the ongoing investigation.
A British woman said Mr. Tate choked her while they were having sex and threatened her afterward. This occurred a few days later.
According to Tate’s spokesperson who talked to the BBC, Tate was “saddened that a few opportunistic women whom he has allegedly spent time with nearly a decade ago have decided to try and take advantage of his current situation.”
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The photo above is from a YouTube screen grab