A Dutch-born oil trader has filed a lawsuit against his former business associate for posing as a CIA operative and using a web of false intelligence claims to try to take control of his $350 million company.
The trader, identified as Niels Troost, claims in the complaint, filed under the federal RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act, that the defendant, Gaurav Srivastava, pretended to be a deep-cover CIA operative whose business endeavors were only a front for covert US government operations.
"For more than five years, defendant Gaurav Srivastava led a criminal enterprise that stole and extorted tens of millions of dollars from plaintiffs and other victims based upon the false overarching narrative that Srivastava was a high-level non-official cover operative for the CIA," the complaint read.
As per the complaint, Srivastava was trained at the CIA's secretive training facility in Virginia, "the Farm," had visible scars from covert missions, and was kidnapped by ISIS in 2008 during an intelligence operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Srivastava even showed his photos with powerful political and military figures, including US Vice President JD Vance, former US President Joe Biden and former NATO commander General Wesley Clark, to prove his connections.
Troost, in his lawsuit, alleged that all of Srivastava's stories were fabricated and designed to manipulate him into handing over control of his business. He claimed that Srivastava was never employed by the CIA, the so-called "battle scars" were actually from a childhood kidney surgery, and the ISIS kidnapping story is fake, as ISIS did not operate in the DRC in 2008.
Troost further mentioned that Srivastava sought millions of dollars to finance a lavish lifestyle, including the purchase of a $24.5-million California mansion featuring high-end recreational amenities, such as bocce court, a private orchard, and a bomb shelter converted into a wine cave.
The lawsuit also claimed that Srivastava and people working with him cheated and deceived victims by convincing them that he controlled the might of the United States Government. "That was all a complete fiction. Srivastava is not a CIA operative—or an agent of any other US federal agency—and never has been. He's not even a US citizen. He's simply a fraud."
It also points out that Srivastava hired a private intelligence and security firm based in New York, called the Arkin Group, which was founded and run by senior former CIA officials. Troost alleges that Srivastava paid this firm to spread false and made-up stories about him, according to The Financial Times.
The report alleges that Srivastava tricked several people in the past, including a businessman from Uganda who also served as an honorary consul for Malaysia, officials from the Sudanese government, and even real American spies.
