- By Nidhi Giri
- Mon, 03 Nov 2025 01:00 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Mumbai News: The Mumbai Crime Branch has uncovered a shocking scam that had been running for the past 20 years, involving a man posing as a scientist from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). The accused, identified as 60-year-old Akhtar Hussain Qutubuddin Ahmed, allegedly impersonated a BARC scientist to carry out the fraud. According to a mid-day report, Ahmed made nearly 40 international trips using a forged passport and travelled to Saudi Arabia around 15 times and Iran about 20 times. He also made multiple visits to Thailand and Russia’s Moscow.
Akhtar and his brother, Adil Hussain, carried out foreign transactions in several bank accounts with some large transactions dating back to 2001.
While Akhtar was arrested from Versova’s Yari Road, Adil was held by the Delhi Police.
As per the report, the remittances were traced from 1996 from countries like the United States, Iran, and Iraq.
“The transactions post-2001 appear highly irregular, with repeated inflows from unidentified foreign sources,” said a Crime Branch officer, as quoted by the mid-day report.
As per investigators, the funding to the duo are suspected to have begun in the mid-1990s through layered international accounts.
Brothers Claim To Have Sensitive Information
The brothers claimed to have BARC maps, sensitive documents and maps related to other nuclear facilities. As per the report, the brothers might have used the information to get money from foreign contacts. The payments are suspected to have been made through intermediaries.
The concerned banks have been asked to provide transaction records, KYC details, and information on closed accounts by the Mumbai Crime Branch.
According to the mid-day's report, co-accused Munazir Khan was asked by Adil to make fraudulent papers for different individuals. The fake documents were found on Khan’s laptop. The reason behind creation of such documents is still unknown.
Akhtar, already faces charges for waging war against the Uttar Pradesh government and spreading disharmony. A case has been registered against him at Meerut’s Kanker Kheda police station. As per the report, Adil is suspected to have visited an enemy nation as early as 1999.