By ELENA SALVONI

Published: 16:10 BST, 3 April 2025 | Updated: 16:30 BST, 3 April 2025

Jean-Claude Van Damme could be facing a police investigation in Romania after five women trafficked by a so-called ‘guru’ were allegedly offered to him for sex, local media reports.

The 64-year-old Hollywood actor was allegedly given access to the women as a ‘gift’ during a visit to Cannes in the south of France for a film release, CNN affiliate Antena 3 reports.

It is claimed that they were victims of a sex trafficking network, which Romanian authorities suspect is run by Romanian businessman and model agency owner Morel Bolea.

Van Damme, known for his roles in the film Double Impact and most recently in Netflix movie The Gardener, was brought up in the case after one of the alleged victims came forward, according to reports.

Lawyer Adrian Cuculis said the five Romanian women ‘were in a state of vulnerability, with the suspicion that they were exploited.’

‘Several Romanians who are currently being investigated for forming, allegedly offered Jean-Claude Van Damme five Romanian women – photo models in Romania – for him to have sexual relations with,’ Cuculis told Antena 3.

Prosecutors from the Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) reportedly opened a case after a young woman who witnessed the encounter in Cannes came forward.

The 64-year-old actor was allegedly given access to the women as a 'gift' during a visit to Cannes in the south of France, according to reports

The 64-year-old actor was allegedly given access to the women as a ‘gift’ during a visit to Cannes in the south of France, according to reports

The woman, who has not been named, said that she was a victim of Bolea’s alleged trafficking network and had been in Cannes when the alleged incident happened.

‘I had just joined the organization. At that time, they were organizing a lot of events both in Iași [Romania] and abroad,’ the woman told Antena 3.

‘During that period, an event took place in Cannes, it was the launch of a film starring Van Damme. 

‘After that event, five of the girls who were from the country were sent to sleep with Van Damme. The girls in our organization told this story,’ she claimed. 

Attorney Cuculis said that the ‘outrageous’ case is part of a wider investigation into human trafficking of and the trafficking of minors that Romanian prosecutors launched in 2020.

A timeframe for when the alleged encounter took place was not made clear in legal documents. 

Bolea was arrested in 2020 on suspicion of trafficking minors after investigators reportedly found that an association he set up recruited minors through an NGO and a modeling agency.

DIICOT stated at the time that these women ‘were subsequently sexually exploited through psychological coercion’. 

Belgian-born Van Damme became a household name after his breakout performance in the 1988 film Bloodsport and a series of roles in action films

Belgian-born Van Damme became a household name after his breakout performance in the 1988 film Bloodsport and a series of roles in action films

They said they had identified at least five victims, according to reports.

Van Damme became a household name after his breakout performance in the 1988 film Bloodsport and a series of roles in action films including Kickboxer and Expendables 2.

Recognisable for his accent and stunt work, the martial arts expert has more than eight million followers on Instagram.

DIICOT and Van Damme’s representative did not immediately respond when contacted for comment.

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Jean Claude Van Damme caught up in sex trafficking investigation after ‘five women were presented to him as a “gift” in Cannes’

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