Ghaziabad fake embassy scam: man who claimed to be ambassador to many micronations busted in raid

The Noida unit Special Task Force of the Uttar Pradesh busted fake “embassies” that were being operated in a rented bungalow in Ghaziabad. They also arrested the man running the scam, Harsh Vardhan Jain, from the spot.

The raid took place at 10 pm last night, and police uncovered a web of lies in the bungalow. 

According to the officials, Jain had falsely claimed and convinced people that he was consul or ambassador for some micronations such as West Artica, Saborga, Poulvia, and Lodonia according to Additional Director General of Police Amitabh Yash who spoke to ANI. Micronations are small self-declared entities that claim to be independent countries but are not recognised by official governments or international organisations. 

 

In the bust, the police discovered that he owned cars with fake diplomatic number plates and had edited photos of himself with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top officials. Four vehicles with fake number plates were seized in the raid, along with 12 forged passports from the micronations, and fake documents that had the seal of the Ministry of External Affairs. He also had two forged PAN cards, 34 rubber stamps of various countries and companies and fake press cards.

 

He had been using the fake position to run a hawala racket or illegal fund scam through shell companies. Faking his identity as a diplomat, he had also lured people by offering them jobs in foreign countries. About 18 fake diplomatic plates were also discovered. The STF also recovered Rs 44.7 lakh in cash and other foreign currency. 

 

It was revealed through police interrogation that he had associations with controversial godman Chandraswami and international arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi in the past.            

Adnan Khashoggi was one of the richest men in the world during the 1980s. He was a Saudi Arabian businessman and a key intermediary in arms deals between Western defence contractors and Middle Eastern governments, especially Saudi Arabia.  

Chandraswami was a controversial spiritual advisor to powerful political and business figures in India and abroad. His name surfaced during the probe into the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, though no charges were proved. 

 

In 2011, Jain was booked in a case related to the possession of an illegal satellite phone.

A Fir case was registered against Jain at Kavi Nagar and proceedings are underway. 

 

India