Tristan Tate has been hit with a charge of inciting others to violence by Romanian prosecutors in a case in which he and his brother Andrew Tate are accused of sexually exploiting women.
The Tate brothers and two Romanian female suspects are under house arrest amid a criminal investigation over alleged human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
DIICOT, Romania’s anti-organised crime prosecuting unit, notified Tristan Tate that an additional charge of inciting others to violence was added to his name on Monday, a spokesperson for the group told Reuters.
One of the Tate brothers’ defence lawyers told the news agency that a statement will be issued on the new charge later.
Under Romanian legislation, prosecutors have filed charges against the four suspects, but the case is under investigation and has not gone to trial. Prosecutors have until June to send the case to trial.
On Twitter, Tristan Tate said prosecutors were making up new charges without evidence. He said: “This has shifted from the prosecution trying to prove Andrew Tate is a human trafficker to them trying to prove Tristan Tate incites violence.
“It will probably end with a conviction on my accountant for making a spelling error on a tax document and a headline: Guilty Verdict in Tate Case. Do not let them distract you. Human trafficking guys! Proof! Let’s go!”
All four have denied the accusations against them. Tristan’s more famous brother Andrew, a divisive internet personality, has claimed the case is a political conspiracy designed to silence him.
The four were held in police custody from December 29 until March 31 when a Bucharest court placed them under house arrest when they successfully won an appeal against their detention.
DIICOT said in a statement after the December arrests that it had identified six victims in the human trafficking case who were allegedly subjected to “acts of physical violence and mental coercion” and sexually exploited by members of the alleged crime group.
The agency said victims were lured with pretences of love and later intimidated, placed under surveillance and subjected to other control tactics while being coerced into engaging in pornographic acts for the financial gain of the crime group.
The spokesperson said the prosecutors were also looking into accusations of money laundering, but had not issued any related charges.
Andrew Tate faces potentially further legal woes as a legal firm in the UK is planning to launch a civil action against him on behalf on three alleged victims of sexual and physical assaults.
Additional reporting by agencies
