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'Westarctica' diplomat case: Fake Ghaziabad embassy kingpin tied to godman, arms dealer, ₹300 cr fraud
During a raid on fake embassy in Ghaziabad, police recovered pictures of the main accused with a controversial “godman” and Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi.
The investigation against Harsha Vardhan Jain, who has been arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for running a fake embassy in Ghaziabad, has revealed potential links to a ₹300 crore scam.
During the raid on Jain's fake embassy in Ghaziabad's Kavi Nagar, police recovered pictures of him with controversial “godman” Chandraswami and Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi.
Chandraswami gained prominence in the 80s and 90s and was considered to be the spiritual adviser of three former prime ministers – PV Narasimha Rao, Chandra Shekhar and VP Singh.
However, he was arrested in 1996 in connection with financial irregularities. He was also accused of funding the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.
A raid at his ashram also revealed his links to arms dealer Khashoggi.
The UP ATS, during the probe, found that Chandraswami had introduced Jain to Khashoggi and Ahsan Ali Sayed in 2000 in London. Sayed allegedly worked with the fake diplomat to open 25 shell companies which were used for brokering deals, UP Police additional director general (ADG), Law and Order, Amitabh Yash, said.
Sayed also operated a company called Western Advisory Group, based out of Switzerland, which worked with other companies to help them procure loans in exchange for brokerage.
The company allegedly collected brokerage worth nearly ₹300 crore (25 million pounds) and fled from the country, following which Sayed was arrested in London in 2022, NDTV reported.
The police are now probing the degree of Jain's involvement in the ₹300 crore scam on Swiss territory. His involvement in arms dealing is also under the scanner given his links to Khashoggi, UP-STF additional superintendent of police Raj Kumar Mishra said.
Who is ‘Westarctica diplomat’ Harshvardhan Jain?
Harsha Vardhan Jain is reportedly an MBA graduate from the London College of Applied Science. He had been running a fake embassy for micronations such as ‘Westarctica’, which are not recognised by any state for seven years.
He claimed to be a consul/ambassador for non-existent countries like Saborga, Poulvia, and Lodonia. He is the son of a businessman in Ghaziabad, and his family owned marble mines in Rajasthan.
However, after his father's passing away, the family faced financial challenges and Jain met Chandraswami, who helped him move to London and open several companies.
After the godman's death, Jain came back to Ghaziabad and began running the fake embassy. During the raid on his premises, the police seized four luxury cars with fake diplomatic number plates, forged documents, foreign currency, and other materials used to run his hawala racket.
