300 crore scam, overseas bank accounts and 162 foreign trips: Startling details of Ghaziabad's fake embassy probe

Harshvardhan Jain, arrested for operating a fake embassy in Ghaziabad for eight years, is now under investigation for a possible Rs 300 crore ($34.6 million) scam, 162 foreign trips over a decade, and multiple overseas bank accounts, revealing startling details.

Last week, the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) arrested Jain at a rented two-storey house in Ghaziabad, which he claimed was an embassy.

The probe uncovered his alleged role in a job racket and money laundering through the Hawala network. During the raid, police seized four cars with fake diplomatic number plates, forged documents, and a collection of luxury watches.

Authorities plan to seek Jain’s custody in court tomorrow. According to police, the scam could be worth nearly Rs 300 crore.

A fake embassy uncovered

The Ghaziabad building bore a nameplate reading “Grand Duchy of Westarctica” and “H E HV Jain Honorary Consul,” adorned with flags of India and Westarctica, a micronation in Antarctica not recognised by any sovereign nation.

Investigators say Jain used this facade since 2017 to network and entice people with fake overseas job offers.

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To maintain appearances, he organised charity events like bhandaras (community feasts) outside the “embassy,” which he had rented six months prior, though the fake embassy operation spanned eight years.

The raid revealed photos of Jain with controversial “godman” Chandraswami and Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi.

Chandraswami, a self-styled spiritual leader influential in the 1980s and 1990s, advised three Indian Prime Ministers—PV Narasimha Rao, Chandra Shekhar, and VP Singh. He faced scrutiny for financial misconduct, was arrested in 1996, and was linked to Khashoggi through a raid on his ashram.

Chandraswami was also accused of involvement in funding the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

A sprawling scam

The UP STF discovered that Chandraswami introduced Jain to Khashoggi and conman Ahsan Ali Sayed, a Hyderabad-born Turkish citizen.

Sayed allegedly collaborated with Jain to establish 25 shell companies for money laundering.

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Sayed’s Switzerland-based Western Advisory Group promised companies loans in exchange for brokerage fees, reportedly collecting 25 million pounds—roughly Rs 300 crore—before fleeing.

Sayed was arrested in London in 2022. Police are now probing Jain’s role in this massive scam, having already found he used the fake embassy to lure victims with job promises.

Westarctica, the micronation Jain claimed to represent, has distanced itself from the entire episode.

“In 2016, Mr HV Jain made a generous donation to Westarctica and was subsequently invited to join our team of international volunteers who advance our environmental and charitable mission in their home countries. His official title was ‘Honorary Consul to India’. He was never granted the position or authority of ‘ambassador’,” the statement read. It added, “During his recent arrest for fraud and other crimes, Mr. Jain was found to be in possession of diplomatic number plates, passports, and other items bearing the seal of Westarctica. As an Honorary Consul, he was not authorized to create these items. Westarctica, itself, does not utilize number plates or passports and we have never permitted or encouraged our representatives to do so themselves. By calling his home an ‘embassy’, Mr Jain was in violation of Westarctica’s protocol for our representatives.”