Jean-Claude Van Damme responds to sex trafficking allegations

Jean-Claude Van Damme has hit back at accusations he allegedly had sex with five Romanian women he knew were trafficked.

"We have become aware of articles alleging an alleged affair in Cannes involving Mr Jean-Claude Van Damme," the action star's agent, Patrick Goavec, said in a statement.

"The reported facts are both grotesque and non-existent," Goavec told People magazine.

"Mr Van Damme does not wish to comment or fuel this rumour, which is as absurd as it is unfounded."

The statement comes a week after CNN affiliate Antena 3 reported that a criminal complaint had been filed with the Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism, alleging that the Timecop star had sexual relations with five women being trafficked by a criminal organisation.

The alleged incidents took place in Cannes, France. The women - all models - were allegedly offered as a "gift" to him, according to the complaint.

The women "were in a state of vulnerability, with the suspicion that they were exploited within the meaning of Article 182 of the Criminal Code", an attorney for one of the alleged victims told the news outlet.

The case will proceed to the High Court of Cassation in France where criminal proceedings must be authorised.