Controversial influencer Andrew Tate, under house arrest in Romania in a pimping case, was formally served with accusations of sexual violence by four women in the UK on Wednesday.
“This morning, lawyers for the four victims delivered a letter claiming damages to him in person at his address” in suburban Bucharest, wrote McCue Jury&Partners in a statement posted on Twitter.
“The letter details allegations of aggravated rape, serious physical assault and coercive behavior,” it explained, threatening Andrew Tate “with legal action in the coming weeks in London depending on his response.”
The complainants, now aged around thirty, reported incidents dating back to 2013-2016, when he was still living in the UK.
The former world kickboxing champion immediately denounced, via his spokesperson, anonymous accusations without evidence “of an opportunistic nature”, surfing on his media exposure.
According to the same source, three of the women had had their complaints rejected several years ago. “What new evidence has come to light since then?” says 36-year-old Andrew Tate.
The American-British influencer and his 34-year-old brother Tristan, who claim their innocence, have been under house arrest in Romania since the end of March for another case, after three months in pre-trial detention.
The two men are suspected of having duped “several victims, including minors” for the purposes of “sexual exploitation”, in particular for the production of pornographic films, according to the prosecutor’s office in charge of combating organized crime (DIICOT).
The charges were re-characterized on Tuesday to include the “continuous aspect” of human trafficking, a crime for which they face up to ten years in prison.
Prosecutors are expected to refer the case back to court by the end of June, according to a judicial source.
Andrew Tate first came to prominence as a contestant on the UK reality TV show Big Brother in 2016. But he was quickly eliminated after a video was released showing him punching a woman.
He then turned to social networks, where he shows off his bulging muscles, smoking cigars and fascinating millions of teenagers with his luxury cars.
There, he promotes masculinist theses and coins his advice to men to help them become rich. His name is one of the most searched on Google.
In the past, he has been suspended from several social networks for misogynistic comments. His Twitter account, now followed by almost seven million followers, was reinstated when the social network was bought by billionaire Elon Musk.