Andrew Tate and his brother are being investigated for more serious human trafficking charges

Misogynist influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are being investigated for more serious human trafficking charges, Romanian prosecutors announced today.

The officials said the pair – along with two other female Romanian suspects – are now under investigation for ongoing trafficking, saying it was a more serious crime than separate counts of trafficking.

The brothers – along with Luana Radu and Georgiana Naghel – are currently under house arrest pending a criminal investigation for suspected human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.

The four have denied the allegations.

According to Romanian law, prosecutors have brought charges against the four suspects, but the case is under investigation and has not yet come to trial. Prosecutors are expected to take them to court later in June.

The four were in police custody from December 29 to March 31, when a court in Bucharest placed them under house arrest.

On Tuesday, Romania’s DIICOT Organized Crime Prosecution Unit informed the Tate brothers that the human trafficking charge had been changed to human trafficking in continued form, a DIICOT spokesperson said.

According to Romanian law, trafficking in adults carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

Another victim was added to the case, which started with six women, the spokesman said.

The Tate brothers’ legal team said Tuesday’s changes were in the “legal interest” of the defendants. “The legal framework has been reviewed and amended to ensure an impartial investigation,” they said in a statement.

“The brothers and their legal team believe today’s hearing proves that their legal rights are being respected and that necessary steps are being taken to ensure an objective investigation. They will continue to cooperate with authorities to prove their innocence and restore their reputation,” the statement said.

DIICOT prosecutors also said they had opened a separate criminal investigation against a Romanian man close to the Tate brothers on charges of human trafficking and forming a criminal crime group to sexually exploit seven women.

Prosecutors have said that Vlad Obuzic, whose social media platforms show photos of him with the Tate brothers, and two other suspects recruited their alleged victims by seducing them and falsely claiming to want a relationship or marriage.

The victims were then forced to produce pornographic content for social media sites, with the suspects keeping most of the profits.

“To ensure the victims’ loyalty and ensure that they act only for the benefit of group members, they were forced to tattoo the name or face of the group member exploiting them,” prosecutors said in a statement. declaration.

Like Andrew Tate, Obuzic is a kickboxer. In the same vein as Tate, he cultivates an ultra macho image online, posing with women, fast cars and luxury properties.

Romanian news center Gandul reported in January that Obuzic – in a video posted online – bragged about bruises on his girlfriend’s body.

News of the change of charges against Andrew Tate and his associates came a week after a fourth British woman alleged she was a victim of sexual assault by the influencer, claiming he strangled her until she lost consciousness.

The 30-year-old has joined a civil action for damages against Tate after three other women indicated they intend to start proceedings in April.

The woman, who was a university student aged 20 at the time of the 2014 allegations, said she met Tate on a night out in his hometown of Luton, Bedfordshire.

She said they had consensual sex, but this turned violent when Tate choked her, and when she awoke he was still having sex with her, to which she did not consent.

The woman told BBC Newsnight that this was her second encounter with Tate. A few months earlier, they had consensual sex.

She said that while they had sex on their second meeting, Tate put his hand on her throat and “strangled me” until she passed out – and that when she came to “it was a little confusing at first,” and he was “still having sex with me’.

The woman also said she was subjected to violent threats from Tate, including one to kill her, adding: “He kept saying ‘I own you, you’re mine'”.

“He was pretty aggressive all night and said horrible things.”

A Tate spokesperson stressed that all sexual acts he was involved in were consensual – and that he does not condone violence against women.

The woman did not file a police report at the time, saying she only realized she had been sexually assaulted six years later when she described what happened to her friends.

She has now joined three other British women in their late 20s and early 30s who are filing civil actions for damages against Tate.

They all say they were victims of sexual assault at the hands of Tate between 2013 and 2016 when he lived in the UK.