A major corruption scandal has rocked the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) Rawalpindi, as an official inquiry (No. 326/2025) has revealed that at least 15 illegal call centres, including MAKJ Int. Pvt. Ltd. and C Dragon Casino, were operating unlawfully in Bahria Town, Rawalpindi under the protection of NCCIA officers. These centres, run by Chinese nationals, were allegedly defrauding the public through various online scams.
The inquiry found that NCCIA officers, including Additional Director Shehzad Haider, Deputy Director Haider Abbas, and Sub-Inspector Muhammad Bilal, received massive monthly kickbacks from these centres through their frontman, Hassan Aamir, a private security company owner who supplied armed guards to the call centres. The Chinese ringleader, identified as Guo Kai Xuan alias Kelvin, reportedly negotiated payments with NCCIA officials through Aamir.
From September 2024 to April 2025, the officers collectively extorted around Rs. 120 million in bribes, charging Rs. 1 million per call centre each month. The monthly bribe distribution per centre was allegedly Rs. 550,000 for Shehzad Haider, Rs. 200,000 each for Haider Abbas and Muhammad Bilal, and Rs. 50,000 for Hassan Aamir. Bilal also demanded Rs. 800,000 as a “facilitation fee” from newly opened centres.
In one incident, Bilal and Sub-Inspector Mian Irfan (SHO NCCIA Islamabad) allegedly collected Rs. 40 million from a Chinese national, Liu, during a raid on an illegal call centre in Islamabad’s F-11 sector.
After a management reshuffle in May 2025, new officers, including Additional Director Aamir Nazir, Assistant Director Nadeem Ahmad Khan, Deputy Director (Anti-Blasphemy Unit) Salman Awan, and Sub-Inspector Sarim Ali, reportedly continued the same corrupt practices, collecting Rs. 15 million monthly in bribes through another frontman, Tahir Mohiuddin.
Sarim Ali later led a raid in Bahria Town that resulted in the arrest of 14 Chinese nationals, including Kelvin. Kelvin’s wife, a Pakistani woman named Areeba Rubab, was then allegedly coerced into paying Rs. 21 million in three installments for the release and lenient treatment of her husband and others. Evidence includes video recordings of Kelvin being tortured and WhatsApp messages sent to Rubab using the “One Time View” feature.
The inquiry reveals that the Rs. 21 million bribe was distributed among NCCIA officials: Rs. 1.7 million to Sarim Ali, Rs. 1.4 million to Sub-Inspector Usman Basharat, Rs. 1 million to Sub-Inspector Zaheer Abbas Niazi, Rs. 9.5 million to Assistant Director Nadeem Ahmad Khan (who allegedly passed Rs. 7 million to Aamir Nazir), with the remaining amount shared among informants and guarantors.
Further evidence shows that Deputy Director Salman Awan initially tried to broker a Rs. 20 million deal for the release of the Chinese detainees. Awan already faces a prior corruption case (FIR No. 27/2023, FIA ACC Islamabad) involving a Rs. 10.05 million bribe.
On July 16, 2025, a raid at MAKJ Int. Pvt. Ltd. in Bahria Town led to the arrest of seven Chinese nationals. Subsequently, Sarim Ali reportedly received Rs. 15 million near Tehzeeb Bakery, I-8 Markaz, Islamabad , keeping Rs. 12 million himself and giving Rs. 3 million to his frontman Tahir Mohiuddin.
In total, the investigation estimates that the first group of officers, Shehzad Haider, Haider Abbas, Muhammad Bilal, and Hassan Aamir, collected approximately Rs. 250 million in bribes, while the second group, Aamir Nazir, Nadeem Ahmad Khan, Salman Awan, Sarim Ali, and Tahir Mohiuddin, pocketed an additional Rs. 50 million.
Based on these findings, an FIR has been registered under Sections 109, 161, 386, and 420 of the Pakistan Penal Code, and Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, against thirteen accused individuals, including senior NCCIA officers, sub-inspectors, and private accomplices.
A joint investigation team led by AD Muhammad Safeer Ahmed, Inspector Muhammad Waheed Khan, and Sub-Inspector Shams Gondal (SHO ACC Islamabad) has been tasked with conducting a detailed probe. FIR copies have been dispatched to all relevant offices.
