An alleged victim in the case against online influencer Andrew Tate appears to have told prosecutors that she was forced to earn a minimum of €10,000 (£9,000) a month on social media platforms, under the threat of physical violence.
The testimony, which appears in a leaked court document seen by the BBC, says "the alleged victim continued working to a strict schedule… staying live on TikTok for 12 hours with only a five-minute break", with the defendants "forcing her to earn a minimum of €10,000 a month and threatening to beat her if she didn't perform her job".
The document also outlines the witness's fear that the group would publish intimate videos and photos of her if she tried to quit, as she says they did in the case of another woman.
Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are being held in preventive custody in Romania while police investigate allegations of human trafficking and rape, which both men deny.
Two Romanian women and close associates of theirs, Georgiana Naghel and Luana Radu, are also being held alongside them.
The leaked document from the Romanian court, which contains more detailed allegations than publicly available court statements, also describes debts being used as "a form of psychological coercion" by the group.
"So-called 'fines' were imposed by the defendants if the girls did not post on OnlyFans," the document claims, with one witness owing "at that time, the sum of €4,000."
In a separate piece of testimony, another witness describes working on the TikTok and OnlyFans platforms for several months in 2021 without a contract, on a schedule set by one of the defendants, saying that she was allowed to keep 50% of her earnings, with the remaining 50% divided between the Tate brothers and their alleged manager.
She also alleges she was not allowed to leave the location unless accompanied.
Some of the alleged victims "den[y] any form of exploitation by the four defendants", the court says, but "these statements do not reflect reality, as... the victims of human trafficking do not always recognise the fact that they have been enslaved and exploited".
What's happened so far?
29 December 2022 - Tate brothers arrested at their Bucharest home
30 December 2022 - Court rules Tate brothers will stay in detention for 30 days
10 January 2023 - Tate brothers unsuccessfully appeal against their detention
15 January 2023 - Police seize Tate's luxury cars
20 January 2023 - Judge extends Tate brothers' detention until 27 February
1 February 2023 - Appeal against extension is rejected by judges
Prosecutors believe that Andrew Tate used "the lover-boy method" of recruiting women, appearing to offer them the chance of a serious and committed relationship, before coercing them to produce pornographic material for online sites.
The defendants are due to remain in custody until 27 February. No charges have yet been brought against them.
Watch: "You know I'm innocent" - Andrew Tate yells to reporters
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- 2 days ago
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- 23 August 2022
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- 20 January
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from Via PakapNews