Ghaziabad fake embassy case: Meet Harsh Vardhan Jain who visited 40 countries, had 12 forged diplomatic passports

Mint

27-07-2025

Uttar Pradesh Police's Special Task Force (STF) busted a full-fledged embassy of 'West Arctica', a non-existence country, at a rented accommodation in Ghaziabad on July 23. It arrested Harsh Vardhan Jain who was running it in two-storey building, with also a claim to be the ambassador of 'Saborga', 'Poulvia', and 'Lodonia'.
Jain kept luxury vehicles with "diplomatic" number plate outside the bungalow and put "flags of these nations' which were often hoisted on its premises to pretend as real consulate. He was found with stamps and photos (morphed) with prime ministers and presidents, including 12 forged diplomatic passports of micronations. He purportedly ran a job scam by assuring people work in foreign countries and is believed to have visited 40 countries.
Harsh Vardhan Jain, 47, is a resident of Kavi Nagar in Ghaziabad of Uttar Pradesh and an accused in Ghaziabad fake embassy case.
He studied Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and is a graduate in Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from London in United Kingdom, UP STF official said while investigating the case. His father, JD Jain, is an industrialist who owned a rolling mill in Ghaziabad. The family also operated marble mines in Rajasthan under the name JD Marbles, which previously exported marble to London.
He came back to India in 2011. Uttar Pradesh Police, in 2012, arrested him for the unauthorised possession of a satellite phone. The police filed a case under the Telegraph Buyers Unlawful Possession Act at Ghaziabad's Kavi Nagar police station. He was allegedly involved in an illegal arms trafficking network and carried out financial fraud under the guise of operating foreign companies.
Jain was in communication with Chandraswami, a contentious spiritual mentor.
'It was Chandraswami who introduced [Mr.] Jain to Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi and India-born Turkish national Ahsan Ali Syed. Together with Syed, Jain allegedly set up over a dozen brokerage firms in the U.K. In 2006, he shifted base to Dubai's Umm Al-Quwain through a cousin living there," The Hindu quoted an UP STF official as saying.
He added, 'During his foreign trips, the accused partnered with Hyderabad-based Shafiq and Dubai's Ibrahim Ali-Bin-Shaarma to float more firms, ostensibly offering overseas job placements and business deals. Such companies are also formed for financial frauds and potentially illegal arms deals.'