Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan will be staying in custody until February 27 after a decision by the Romanian court to extend their detention, per BBC News.
The controversial influencer, widely accused of misogyny, was arrested by authorities in the country over human trafficking and rape charges on December 29.
After the brothers' arrest, they were detained for 24 hours alongside two Romanian suspects, prosecutors in the country stated.
"The four suspects... appear to have created an organized crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialized websites for a cost," prosecutors said, Sky News reported at the time.
"They would have gained important sums of money."
The 36-year-old British-American, who has been under investigation since April, could be heard saying in footage of his arrest: "the matrix has attacked me" as he is led away by law enforcement.
According to prosecutors, there are at least six people who were sexually exploited by the "organized criminal group".
They stated that victims were recruited by "British citizens misrepresenting their intention to enter into a marriage or cohabitation relationship and the existence of genuine feelings of love".
They were then taken to Romania's Ilfov county where "by exercising acts of physical violence and mental coercion - through intimidation, constant surveillance, control and invoking alleged debts - they were sexually exploited by group members by forcing them to perform demonstrations pornographic for the purpose of producing and disseminating through social media platforms material having such a character and by submitting to the execution of a forced labour".
The former kickboxer had his Twitter account suspended back in 2017 after he expressed misogynistic sentiments. It was reinstated late last year.
While he has been banned on other social media platforms, his content continues to circulate online under popular hashtags associated with him. For example, videos under the hashtag Andrew Tate have accumulated billions of views.
Tate first rose to infamy in 2016 after he was forced to leave the reality show Big Brother after footage appeared to show him attacking a woman with a belt. He contends that the video was edited.
He also suggested rape victims "bear some responsibility" for their assault and has described women as being the "property" of men.
Tate has also shared with his mostly male followers how he would attack a woman for accusing him of cheating, saying he would "bang out the machete, boom in her face and grip her by the neck".
He maintains that he doesn't espouse misogynistic views and said his critics "twist facts". Yet he has also referred to himself as the "king of toxic masculinity".
This is a developing story. More to follow...
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