‘Baron of Westarctica’: Harshvardhan Jain, who ran fake embassy in Ghaziabad, flew to UK, Dubai; held 10 foreign bank accounts — whopping details emerge

GHAZIABAD: The ‘baron of Westarctica' was a globetrotter, having travelled abroad 200 times and visiting 30 countries, STF's investigation into the man who ran a fake embassy in Ghaziabad for nine years has found. Harshvardhan Jain, who bestowed on himself fictitious titles from obscure micronations, installed flags to make his Kavi Nagar bungalow the impression of an embassy and had cars with diplomatic number plates parked on the compound, was a frequent flier to the UK and Dubai. The STF has found 25 shell companies registered by Jain and 10 foreign bank accounts in his name.SP (Noida STF) Raj Kumar Mishra said Jain, during his stay at the UK, had come close to India-born Turkish businessman Ahsan Ali Syed, who was arrested in London on Nov 22, 2022, for perpetrating a million-dollar loan fraud between Sept 2010 and May 2011. Syed, who was later extradited to Switzerland, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison by a local court for fraud and fleeing after collecting brokerage money in the name of securing loans for 16 companies."Together, Jain and Syed had registered several companies abroad, including State Trading Corporation Ltd and East India Company UK Ltd in the UK, Island General Trading Co LLC in the UAE, Indira Overseas Ltd in Mauritius and Cameron Ispat Sarl in Cameroon, Africa," the officer said. The STF is now investigating whether these were shell companies used for illicit activities like money laundering, tax evasion or fraud. A blue corner notice may be issued against Jain to understand more about his criminal activities abroad.Also under scanner are two PAN cards recovered during the raid on Jain's bungalow number KB-45 and bank accounts linked to these. Investigators said Jain had six bank accounts in Dubai (UAE), three in the UK and one each in Mauritius and India. More than Rs 23 lakh was deposited in his account at Punjab National Bank's Ghaziabad branch over the last two to three years, another senior officer said. The money was later transferred to other bank accounts. Cops are now probing the money trail and have sought details from the banks.Investigators found that three of the four cars with diplomatic registration plates recovered from the house are over 15 years old and were used for hawala operations. Earlier, cops told TOI that a Mercedes bearing diplomatic registration plates that read ‘honorary consul baron Westarctica' found parked outside Jain's bungalow was owned by his father-in-law, Anand Jain. Another car with an ‘honorary consigliere principato di Seborga' registration plate was jointly owned by Ghanshyam Jain of Ghaziabad and Amit Shukla of Hardoi. Two other cars seized from the house, both with diplomatic registration plates, are owned by Bhavesh Dugar of Delhi and another by Indra Business Private Limited, Delhi. Cops believe the lavish bungalow, morphed photographs with global leaders, high-end cars were all used as a ruse by Jain to cheat job seekers and businesses by offering fake overseas placements and deals, while also running a hawala network through shell firms. "He lived lavishly, hiring 4-5 bouncers for parties and over 10 when hosting influential business guests," a senior officer said. A diary recovered during the raid lists hundreds of names, contact details, and money-related entries. "We've prepared questions based on the diary and will question Jain once we get custody," the SP added.Two house helpers, Ishwar Singh and Hemant Kumar Rajvanshi, have been made witnesses in the case.