Harshvardhan Jain, who is arrested in Ghaziabad for running a fake embassy, was found in possession of forged documents, foreign currency, and several other materials, which he probably used to run his hawala racket.
During Jain's arrest from the city’s Kavi Nagar area, Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) Noida unit seized over ₹44 lakh in cash along with foreign currency of several countries. Four vehicles with diplomatic number plates were also seized from his possession, along with 18 diplomatic number plates and 12 diplomatic passports of micronations.
Also read: Fake embassy being run by Ghaziabad man from rented home busted, fancy ‘diplomatic’ cars seized
He also had forged documents with the Ministry of External Affairs seal, two forged PAN cards, 34 seals of various countries and companies, two fake press cards, and documents of various companies, all of which the police have seized.
A video of the recovered materials shows pile of cash, foreign currency, along with several fake stamps, passports and even watches.
Ambassador of ‘Westarctica’
{{/usCountry}}A video of the recovered materials shows pile of cash, foreign currency, along with several fake stamps, passports and even watches.
Ambassador of ‘Westarctica’
{{/usCountry}}Harshvardhan Jain, who is a resident of Ghaziabad, was running a fake embassy from a rented house in the city’s Kavi Nagar area. He lived in the same locality and claimed to be the consul/ambassador of made-up countries such as Westarctica, Saborga, Poulvia, and Lodonia, according to UP Police additional director general (law & order) Amitabh Yash.
“The consul is a government official residing in a foreign country to represent the interests of their home country and its citizens. They handle various tasks like issuing visas, renewing passports, and providing assistance to citizens abroad, while also promoting trade relations,” he added.
To run and keep up his facade, Jain used diplomatic number plates on his cars and even had his photographs morphed with figures such as the Prime Minister and the President.
One of the main purposes of him running the fake embassy was to broker deals for companies and individuals to work abroad, said the UP ADG. The accused also ran a hawala racket through shell companies, he added.
The UP police has registered a case against Jain at the Kavi Nagar police station in Ghaziabad and further probe is on, said police.