Home » Fake envoy held with ₹44L, foreign currency in Ghaziabad

Fake envoy held with ₹44L, foreign currency in Ghaziabad

by TheReportingTimes

GHAZIABAD, July 23 — Uttar Pradesh’s Special Task Force (STF) arrested Harshvardhan Jain from Ghaziabad’s Kavi Nagar area for allegedly running a fake embassy and operating a hawala racket under the guise of a self-styled “ambassador” of fictional nations.

Jain, who posed as the consul of fabricated micronations like Westarctica, Saborga, Poulvia, and Lodonia, was found with ₹44 lakh in cash, foreign currency from several countries, 12 diplomatic passports of fictitious states, 18 diplomatic number plates, and four vehicles falsely bearing diplomatic tags. The Noida unit of the STF made the arrest on Tuesday and registered a case at Kavi Nagar police station.

“He had turned a rented house into a fake embassy and used it to pose as a foreign consul. To appear legitimate, he even morphed his photos with top leaders like the Prime Minister and the President,” said Additional Director General of Police (Law & Order) Amitabh Yash.

Officials also recovered forged documents bearing the seal of the Ministry of External Affairs, two fake PAN cards, 34 fake seals of various foreign governments and private companies, two counterfeit press cards, and business documents suspected to be linked to shell firms. A video circulated by police shows a staggering array of cash bundles, fake passports, international currency, watches, and official-looking stamps.

According to UP Police, Jain used his fabricated diplomatic identity to broker international work permits and overseas job deals for companies and individuals — while simultaneously running an illicit hawala network.

“Consuls are officially appointed to serve abroad and protect the interests of their country and citizens. Jain exploited this concept to commit serious fraud and mislead the public,” said Yash.

The police said further investigations are underway to determine how many people fell victim to the scam and to trace the extent of the hawala operations.

 

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