The Uttar Pradesh Police’s Special Task Force have arrested a man for running a fake embassy at a rented bungalow in Ghaziabad’s Kavi Nagar.
The arrested person was identified as Harsh Vardhan Jain.
He reportedly posed as the ambassador for fictional micronations like Westarctica, Saborga, Poulvia, and Lodonia.
Jain used luxury cars with fake diplomatic plates and morphed photos with world leaders in a bid to appear more legitimate.
He allegedly duped people by offering them fake business jobs and deals.
He also operated an alleged hawala network.
Following his arrest, four vehicles bearing fake diplomatic number plates, 12 forged diplomatic passports of the so-called micronations, fake documents stamped with the seal of the Ministry of External Affairs, two forged PAN cards, 34 rubber stamps of various countries and companies and two fake press cards have been seized, reported The Tribune.
Police told the newspaper that Jain may have ties to notorious figures like godman Chandraswami and arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi.
Westarctica is a United States non-profit advocating for climate action, and an unrecognised micronation in Antarctica.
As a non-profit, it is registered in Sacramento, California, and officially named Westarctica Incorporated.
As a micronation, it claims the 1,600,000 km2 (620,000 sq mi) area of Marie Byrd Land in Antarctica, and is formally the Grand Duchy of Westarctica.
