Andrew Tate has threatened legal action against a woman believed to be a key witness in the Romanian investigation into rape and human trafficking claims against him.
The former kickboxer, 36, and his younger brother Tristan were arrested near Bucharest in December as police probe the claims against them, which they deny.
Lawyers for one of the the British-American influencer’s accusers say they were sent a “cease-and-desist” letter by a law firm in the United States acting on behalf of the two brothers that same month.
The letter threatened to sue the woman and her parents for $300m (£249m) unless she retracted her statements, according to the BBC, which has seen a redacted copy.
Benjamin Bull, who works for the National Centre on Sexual Exploitation, told the broadcaster that his client is a key witness in the investigation by Romania’s anti-organised crime agency Didcot, and that the letter was designed to do “one thing and one thing only”.
The letter “was intended to shut down the witness; stop the witness from bringing testimony forward in any proceedings”, he said, adding: “They want these young ladies to climb into a hole and hide, never come forward [or] describe what they saw and what happened to them.
“It’s clearly an effort to intimidate.”
But Tina Glandian, a lawyer for the brothers, said the fact that they “are incarcerated right now is not a basis for them not to pursue their legal rights”. The Independent has approached the Geragos & Geragos law firm for further comment.
The Tates’ legal representation told the BBC that the cease-and-desist letter was sent in December, as a civil matter for defamation and slander in the US – but deny any intimidation.
The brothers are also revealed to have lodged a criminal complaint in Romania last April against two women, including the recipient of the cease-and-desist letter, which Ms Glandian said was in response to allegations that two women were being held against their will by the brothers.
“There was no evidence whatsoever of that,” she told the broadcaster, “which is why [the Tates] were not arrested in April. [At that time], they were nothing but victims of false allegations, and they had every right to file criminal complaints for having their homes raided [and] property seized.”
The results of those criminal complaints are still pending, she added.
Mr Bull said that the legal action had been upsetting and intimidating for his clients, while his colleague Dani Pinter warned that her clients were also receiving harrasment online for speaking out.
“Regular, high production value videos, meant to embarrass and harass them, are shared among Tate’s followers,” she said, adding that the two alleged victims she represents are “scared to death” and “both in hiding”, feeling unable to “settle anywhere, because people are trying to find them”.
Ealier this week, polling by leading anti-fascism charity Hope Not Hate, shared with The Independent, suggested that eight in 10 boys aged between 16 and 17 had either read, listened to or watched content from the “success coach”.
The Independent previously reported on research by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) which unearthed 47 videos of Mr Tate pushing what it describes as “extreme misogyny”.
