Indian police have arrested a man accused of operating a bogus ‘Embassy‘ from a rented house in Ghaziabad, near New Delhi, posing as a diplomat for fictional nations such as “Westarctica”, “Seborga”, and “Lodonia”.
The suspect, Harshvardhan Jain, 48, allegedly impersonated an ambassador and promised foreign jobs to unsuspecting victims in exchange for money. Police said Jain ran the sham “consulate” under the guise of being an envoy of non-existent micronations, complete with fake diplomatic plates and doctored credentials.
According to Sushil Ghule of the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF), officers recovered ₹44.7 lakh in cash (around £38,000), foreign currencies, 12 forged diplomatic passports, fake seals of India’s Ministry of External Affairs and nearly three dozen other countries, as well as 34 rubber stamps of various companies and nations.
Jain’s rented premises were decorated with flags of various countries and housed four cars bearing fake diplomatic plates. Authorities also recovered 18 additional forged number plates, fake press cards, two forged PAN cards, and multiple doctored photographs of Jain posing with global leaders.
Police suspect he was laundering money through shell companies overseas and said he has been booked for forgery, impersonation, and possession of fake documents. A First Information Report has been lodged at Kavi Nagar police station, and further investigations are underway.
The STF also revealed that Jain had prior links with controversial figures like self-styled godman Chandraswami and arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi. He had previously been booked in 2011 for possessing an illegal satellite phone.
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