UP STF Arrests Man Running Fake ‘West Arctica’ Embassy

The Uttar Pradesh Police's Special Task Force unearthed a fake embassy operating in Ghaziabad and has arrested a man who ran the “consulate” and claimed to be a diplomat of the non-existent country, “West Arctica”, a senior official told PTI. The accused, Harsh Vardhan Jain, a resident of Kavi Nagar in Ghaziabad, was arrested on Tuesday.

According to the STF’s Noida unit, preliminary investigations suggest that Jain was engaged in brokering deals by falsely promising job placements for companies and individuals in foreign countries. He is also suspected to be involved in running a hawala racket through shell companies, the agency said, adding the accused used morphed photos showing him with the prime minister, the president and other dignitaries, to mislead people.

Additional Director General of Police Amitabh Yash said the accused was running a bogus embassy from a rented house and projected himself as a consul or ambassador of non-existent countries, including “West Arctica”, “Saborga”, “Poulvia”, and “Lodonia”. He moved around in vehicles bearing fake diplomatic number plates.

His interrogation has revealed that Jain had associations with controversial godman Chandraswami and international arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi in the past. In 2011, Jain was booked in a case related to the recovery of an illegal satellite phone.

Following his arrest on Tuesday, four vehicles bearing fake diplomatic number plates, 12 forged diplomatic passports of the non-existent 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 ID cards have been seized.

The STF also recovered Rs 44.7 lakh in cash, foreign currency, documents related to multiple companies, and 18 fake diplomatic number plates.

An FIR has been lodged at Kavi Nagar police station, and further proceedings are underway, the agency said.