From Ghaziabad, UP man operated fake embassies of 3 micronations: Where are they located?
The police said that Jain converted his office in an upscale Ghaziabad neighbourhood into a fake consulate by hoisting flags of different micronations. He also had four luxury vehicles that illegally sported diplomatic registration plates.
During a raid at the 'embassy', the police found ₹44.7 lakh in cash and foreign currency with an exchange value of around ₹30 lakh.
Also Read | Ghaziabad: Fake envoy under lens for global fraud links, STF to seek blue corner notice
They also found four luxury cars, including an Audi and a Mercedes, 20 fake VIP registration number plates for diplomats, 12 fake passports, two PAN cards, 34 stamps from different countries, 12 premium watches, a laptop, a mobile phone, and other documents.
What are the 'nations' of the con-diplomat?
Jain was operating an illegal diplomatic mission of Westarctica from a rented house in Ghaziabad's Kavi Nagar locality.
In addition to Westarctica, he also claimed to be the consul/ambassador of micronation countries like Seborga, Ladonia, and a fictitious country called Poulvia.
Also Read | Fake embassy: How Ghaziabad man ran Westarctica mission for nearly 10 years
Micronations are self-proclaimed entities that claim to be sovereign states but are not recognised as such by most countries and multilateral bodies, such as the United Nations.
Westartica is a micronation, located in the western portion of Antarctica. Paulovia is a fictitious country.
Seborga is a village and a self-proclaimed principality in the region of Liguria near the French border.
Also Read | Who is Harshvardhan Jain? 'Westarctica diplomat' who ran fake embassy for 7 years in Ghaziabad
Ladonia is a micronation, proclaimed in 1996 by artist Lars Vilks. It is located on the remote Kullaberg Peninsula in southern Sweden.
None of these micronations is recognised by India, thereby ruling out the existence of an envoy.
(Inputs from Arun Singh, Rohit Kumar Singh)
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