A 47-year-old man identified as Harshvardhan Jain was arrested on Wednesday for running a fake embassy in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. He was produced before the court on Wednesday and sent to 14 days of judicial custody.
Jain was illegally operating a diplomatic mission in Westarctica. He claimed to be an ambassador/consul for micronation countries such as Ladonia, Seborga, and Poulvia. He was operating from a rented house in the Kavi Nagar locality of Ghaziabad. The Additional Director General, Law & Order, confirmed that the accused was running the diplomatic mission illegally.
These lesser-known micronations are entities that claim to be sovereign but are not recognized by multilateral bodies such as the United Nations or by India.
How the Operation Started
UP Police confirmed that Jain was appointed as an advisor to Seborga (a village in the Liguria region near the French border) in 2012, and in 2016, he was appointed as the consul of Westarctica.
How He Operated & What Was Recovered
He rented a space in Ghaziabad and converted it into a consulate where he hoisted various micronation flags. He also used fake registration plates on luxury vehicles.
During the raid, officials recovered four luxury cars, including an Audi and a Mercedes, 20 fake VIP registration numbers, two fake PAN cards, 12 fake passports, 34 stamps of various nations, laptops, watches, and mobile phones. Authorities also seized ₹44.7 lakh in cash and counterfeit currency worth ₹30 lakh.
Shocking Revelations
During the investigation, Jain confessed to operating a hawala racket under the guise of the fake embassy.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Noida STF) Raj Kumar Mishra said that during interrogation, Jain admitted to using the embassy as a cover for his hawala operations, which he had been running for years.
ASP Mishra revealed that Jain had been running the fake embassy since 2016. Initially, he operated from his paternal home but shifted five months ago to a rented space that cost ₹1.8 lakh per month.
