Andrew and Tristan Tate allegedly held a stash of passports under false names, one borrowed from a James Bond villain

Brothers Andrew Tate (39) and Tristan Tate (38), who face multiple U.S. and British criminal charges, allegedly kept an assortment of passports bearing false names to travel abroad — including an identity taken from a villain in a James Bond novel.

According to court filings, Tristan possessed a Mexican passport that showed his photograph and birth date but listed the name "Vladimir Scorpius," the antagonist from the 007 novel Scorpius. Tristan also posted a video filmed on a boat in which he declares, "I am Vladimir Scorpius," and registered a British company called Scorpius Ltd., a possible reference to the fictional arms dealer in John Gardner's 1988 novel.

Andrew Tate publicly boasted on social media that he has "8 lives... 8 permits and passports," the filings say. Prosecutors say those and other statements show the brothers had access to multiple travel documents and were willing to use false identities to evade authorities.

Prosecutors warn of flight and witness risks

British prosecutors told a U.S. federal court in Florida that Andrew and Tristan held passports from the United Kingdom, the United States, Estonia, Nigeria, Poland and the Pacific island state of Vanuatu. The filings — submitted by the British embassy as part of opposition to the brothers' bail requests — argue the pair are a significant flight risk and could attempt to identify or influence witnesses if released.

The Tate brothers were arrested by U.S. marshals at a boxing event in Miami on July 18 and remain detained in a federal detention facility. They are resisting extradition to the United Kingdom, where they face a total of 59 criminal counts including rape, human trafficking for sexual exploitation, and offenses tied to indecent recordings involving a child and extreme pornography. Their detention hearing is scheduled for today.

Photo: EPA-EFE/Robert Ghement