UP Police seeks custody of kingpin Harsh Vardhan Jain in 'fake embassy' case

Police in Ghaziabad has moved an application seeking the remand of Harsh Vardhan Jain, the alleged mastermind behind bogus 'embassies', who was arrested and sent to jail earlier this week for fraud and other offences.

A senior police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told PTI on Friday that the application for Jain's police custody has been filed and is likely to be heard by the court on Monday.

"Beyond routine investigation, police are also looking into Jain's liaisoning network. His association and photographs with international arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi have surfaced during the preliminary probe," the officer said. "Authorities suspect there may be a counter-intelligence angle involved, and several incriminating documents have been recovered," the officer added.

Jain's elaborate racket was busted by the Special Task Force (STF) and the case is now being investigated by Ghaziabad Police. The STF is assisting the local police in pursuing the case. Meanwhile, the police also took note of a purported "official statement" issued by "Westarctica" on Friday in which the micronation (a self-declared entity but unrecognised officially) distanced itself from Jain.

"Jain was an authorised representative engaging in unauthorized activities," the statement from "Westarctica" said, clarifying that while Jain held the honorary title of "Honorary Consul to India" after making a donation in 2016, he was "never granted ambassadorial status".

Founded in 2001 by former US Navy intelligence analyst Travis McHenry, "Westarctica" functions primarily as an environmental advocacy nonprofit registered in the US, with tax-exempt status since 2018.

"Although they have issued a statement but its status as a nation is unrecognised therefore the statement holds zero value for us. However, we are getting it legally vetted for further perusal," the police officer, involved in the probe, told PTI. On Tuesday, the STF had raided Jain's rented bungalow in Ghaziabad's Kavinagar area and uncovered a fake embassy setup. The STF recovered Rs 44.7 lakh in cash, multiple foreign currencies, fake diplomatic passports, 18 forged diplomatic number plates, and seals purportedly from the Ministry of External Affairs and firms in 34 countries.

STF officials revealed that Jain had previously established over a dozen companies in Europe, allegedly used to facilitate hawala operations in collaboration with international associates, including Hyderabad-born Turkish citizen Ehsan Ali Syed - now jailed in Switzerland for fraud.

Jain had also styled himself as an ambassador to other fictitious entities like "Saborga", "Paulovia" and "Lodonia", allegedly defrauding individuals under the pretense of offering overseas jobs and visas.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)