Fake envoy case in Ghaziabad: More overseas links emerge; police seek remand

The move comes after investigators uncovered alleged financial transactions totaling ₹20 crore from Turkish national Syed Ehsan Ali to Harsha Vardhan Jain

The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (UP-STF) has begun the process to obtain a Blue Corner notice against Harsha Vardhan Jain and applied for his police custody remand, aiming to investigate his overseas activities and financial links.

Harsh Vardhan Jain. (ANI)

The move comes after investigators said that they uncovered evidence that suggests alleged financial transactions totaling ₹20 crore from Turkish national Syed Ehsan Ali to Jain between 2002 and 2004, along with an expanded list of Jain’s bank accounts — now totalling 12 in India and eight abroad — five in Dubai, two in London, and one in Mauritius.

“The process for obtaining a Blue Corner notice is underway, and investigators have also applied to get a police custody remand of suspect Jain. A court hearing on the police custody remand of Jain is scheduled for Monday. This will bring to light more details about his links, modus operandi, and types of dealings he took up,” said RK Mishra, additional superintendent of police, UP-STF.

Jain, 47, a resident of Kavi Nagar in Ghaziabad, was arrested for allegedly operating a fake consulate from his rented residence while claiming diplomatic status from unrecognised micronations such as Westarctica, Seborga, Ladonia, and the fictional state of Paulovia. He is currently in judicial custody, and a case has been registered at Kavi Nagar police station under sections 318(4) (cheating), 336(3) (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security), and 340(2) (forged documents or electronic records) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

According to investigators, Jain first came into contact with controversial godman Chandraswami in London around 2000. Chandraswami later introduced him to Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi and Syed Ehsan Ali, a former Hyderabad resident who later acquired Turkish nationality.

Ali was convicted in Switzerland in 2023 for large-scale financial fraud involving multiple offshore firms. He ran firms in Bahrain and Switzerland, and allegedly earned £25 million in brokerage fees by falsely claiming to secure loans worth £70 million for Swiss companies. London police arrested him in November 2022 on Switzerland’s request, and he was extradited in July 2023. A Zurich court later sentenced him to six-and-a-half years in prison for fraud involving 16 companies.

Meanwhile, Westarctica, one of the micronations cited by Jain in his diplomatic claims, has released a statement distancing itself from him. “Jain has been indefinitely suspended as a representative of our organisation,” the statement said.

It clarified that Jain made a donation in 2016 to their organisation and was invited to join their volunteer team under the title of “Honorary Consul to India,” but was never granted ambassadorial powers. The team’s purpose was to advance environmental and charitable missions for Westarctica in their home countries.

“During his recent arrest for fraud and other crimes, Jain was found to be in possession of diplomatic number plates, passports, and other items bearing the seal of Westarctica. As an Honorary Consul, he was not authorised to create these items. Westarctica itself does not use number plates or passports, and we have never permitted or encouraged our representatives to do so themselves. By calling his home an ‘embassy’, Jain was in violation of Westarctica’s protocol for our representatives,” the statement added.