Influencer Andrew Tate and brother to remain in custody

The pair are being held on charges of forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women

Andrew Tate, centre, and his brother Tristan, right, arrive under police escort at the Court of Appeal in Bucharest, Romania. AP

Influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan will remain in custody until February 27 after their detention was extended by a Romanian court.

Tate, 36, a British-US citizen who has 4.7 million followers on Twitter, was initially detained on December 29, in Bucharest, Romania’s capital, on charges of being part of an organized crime group, human trafficking and rape.

His brother, Tristan, and two Romanian women are also detained in the same case.

On Friday, a judge ruled they should be held in prison for a further 30 days while police build the case against them.

"At the request of the prosecution, the court has accepted the extension of the detention of the two Tate brothers until February 27," said Ramona Bolla, a spokeswoman for Romania's anti-organised crime and terrorism directorate.

The judge is expected to set out the reasons for the extension in a written statement later.

The decision came after all four lost an appeal last week at a Bucharest court, which ruled to uphold a judge’s December 30 move to uphold an earlier decision to extend their arrest from 24 hours to 30 days.

The brothers deny the allegations.

Tate rose to notoriety in 2016 when he was removed from reality TV show Big Brother over a video that appeared to show him hitting a woman with a belt.

The former kickboxer has said women are partly responsible for being raped and that they belong to men. He is a self-professed misogynist.

On a podcast last year, he said he started making money when he lived in London by convincing girlfriends to videochat and share the profits.

"How can I use these women to make me money?" Tate said.