Two Fake Embassy Victims, Duped Of Rs 9 Lakh In Total, Reveal Ordeal

Two victims of the Ghaziabad fake embassy case have revealed their ordeal to the investigation agencies - one was duped of Rs 7 lakh and the other of Rs 2 lakh under the pretext of employment. According to officials, the arrested mastermind of the racket, Harshvardhan Jain, had promised them jobs abroad.

One victim is a resident of Delhi who gave Jain Rs 7 lakh in many installments for getting a job in Iraq.

Another person is from Uttar Pradesh's Deoria, who had given Jain Rs 2 lakh.

Jain was arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh Police last week for impersonating an ambassador and allegedly duping people by promising overseas employment. The 47-year-old accused claimed to have acted as an adviser or ambassador to various non-existent or unrecognised 'micronations' such as "Westarctica", "Saborga", "Lodonia" or "Poulvia".

Officials said that Jain and his aide, Ehsan Ali Syed, had opened 22 shell companies in India and abroad. Many of these companies had names resembling well-known brands to mislead and trap victims. The names included East India Company UK Ltd, State Trading Corporation UK, Island General Trading in Dubai, Indira Overseas Ltd in Mauritius, and Cameroon Ispat SARL in Cameroon.

Additionally, cops said that Jain has at least 11 bank accounts - six in Dubai, three in Mauritius, one each in London and India.

They are probing Jain's possible link to a scam worth nearly Rs 300 crore, 162 foreign trips in 10 years, and multiple overseas bank accounts.

The STF recovered four cars with diplomatic number plates, 'diplomatic passports' of 12 micronations, documents with stamps of the External Affairs Ministry, stamps of 34 nations, Rs 44 lakh in cash, foreign currency, 18 diplomatic number plates, and a luxury watch collection from Jain's rented premises in Ghaziabad.

During the raids, the police also found photos of Jain with controversial "godman" Chandraswami and Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi. Further investigation revealed that it was Chandraswami who introduced Jain to Khassogi and conman Syed.