German held for duping man in ₹60-lakh citizenship fraud

Police said Poonam Jezler allegedly promised a Delhi man German citizenship for ₹1.1 crore and collected ₹60 lakh through two payments.

Police on Tuesday arrested an Indian-origin German national at IGI Airport for allegedly cheating a Delhi-based man of ₹60 lakh on the pretext of facilitating German citizenship.

Police said a look-out circular had been issued against Jezler before she was detained at the Delhi airport. (Raj K Raj /HT photo/Representational Image)

The arrest follows an October 4 FIR filed against the arrested woman, her husband, and five others. The woman, Poonam Jezler, is the president of the World Book of Records in Switzerland and her husband is a Swiss national, police said. They added that the incident incident occuured in 2023-24.

Police alert FRRO and MEA after arrest

According to police, Jezler claimed her father is a bureaucrat in Madhya Pradesh. Police have informed the Foreigners Registration Office (FRRO) and the ministry of external affairs about the arrest and legal proceedings.

The complainant, a resident of Civil Lines, alleged in the FIR that he was was pursuing an MBA in Switzerland in 2021 when he met Jezler and her husband through a mutual Delhi-based businessman friend. The FIR, seen by HT, mentions that the complainant met the couple at their home in Zurich.

“During my visits to their residence, they told me they ran an immigration consultancy business. Poonam spoke highly about her experience in providing citizenship of various countries...they asked me about my future plans and further introduced an idea of having citizenship of Germany,” reads the FIR. The man claims he returned to India after completing his MBA.

“They (the couple) even visited India, met my parents, and developed a close relationship with my family in order to gain our trust... In March, 2022, I joined as a financial auditor at a hotel in Zurich where they visited me under the guise of acting as my local guardians to win over my trust. They said they could easily get me German citizenship for ₹1.1 crore, within six months,” reads the FIR.

Victim allegedly paid ₹50 lakh to one account, ₹10 lakh to Jezler

According to police, the suspects visited the victim and his family again, and later introduced them to a man who claimed to be a senior immigration officer with the German embassy. Police said the victim was induced to pay ₹50 lakh into one account and ₹10 lakh to Jezler.

“After receiving the complaint, a case was lodged. The incident took place around 2023-24. A look-out circular was issued and Jezler was held at the IGI Airport,” said a police officer.