He gave his full name variously as "Achmed Abdullah Nadir Khan el-Durani el-Iddrissyeh"[1] or as "Alexander Nicholayevitch Romanoff".

Achmed Abdullah's biography prior to coming to the US is based on his own writings and interviews, and his reminiscences in The Cat had Nine Lives, and is not verified by independent sources.

[6] In various sources including his autobiography, Abdullah claimed that at the age of 12, he was sent to Eton College and then to Oxford University to be educated (there are no records about him in either school).

He claimed to have mostly spent the time in the military as a spy because of his wide knowledge of Oriental and Middle Eastern customs and religions.

It is said that he traveled widely in Russia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and China and spoke many languages and dialects.

He claimed he was made a British citizen by an Act of Parliament and convicted by the Germans during the First World War for being a spy.