In a quiet neighbourhood of Ghaziabad’s Kavi Nagar, residents often saw luxury cars with diplomatic number plates pulling up to a nondescript two-storey house. However, most of them probably did not suspect that inside, a man claiming to be the “ambassador” of Westarctica was running an elaborate con built on forged documents, fake embassies, and promises of international deals.
On Monday, the Noida unit of the Uttar Pradesh Police Special Task Force (STF) raided the premises, and arrested Harsh Vardhan Jain.
The 45-year-old had rented the house in KB-35 and converted it into what he claimed was the official embassy of Westarctica, an unrecognised micronation in Antarctica. He also presented himself as the diplomatic representative of other micronations, such as Seborga and Lodonia, as well as fictional countries like Poulvia.
According to STF officials, Jain used this bizarre setup to pass himself off as a powerful global player, complete with a fabricated diplomatic identity, morphed photographs with high-ranking leaders, including prime ministers and presidents, and credentials that bore forged seals of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
“He used the guise of diplomacy to influence businessmen, promise them access to international markets, and run a hawala network through shell companies,” the police said in its statement to the press.
According to the police, his modus operandi was to create an aura of international legitimacy around himself. The fake embassy setup helped him appear credible while scamming people looking for foreign investment or work permits, the police said.
The police also seized four vehicles with diplomatic number plates, 18 additional fake diplomatic plates, 12 forged diplomatic passports, forged documents bearing MEA seals, two fake PAN cards, 34 stamps of various countries and shell companies, two forged press cards, Rs 44.7 lakh in cash, foreign currency of multiple countries, and business documents linked to shell entities allegedly used for hawala operations.
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This is not Jain’s first brush with law enforcement. In 2011, the Ghaziabad police booked him for the illegal possession of a satellite phone, a case still on record at the Kavi Nagar Police Station.
Officers also said he has previously boasted of his connections with self-styled godman Chandraswami and international arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, both now deceased.
An FIR has been registered at Kavi Nagar police station, and further investigations are underway.
