How 'Baron of Westarctica' Harshvardhan Jain funded his fake embassy in Ghaziabad

Harshvardhan Jain

Authorities are digging deeper into the life and activities of Harshvardhan Jain, who is accused of converting his Ghaziabad bungalow into a fake embassy, complete with flags and cars sporting diplomatic plates. The investigation, reported by TOI, has unveiled a web of suspected shell companies, foreign accounts and an unusual lifestyle that criss-crossed at least 30 countries.

Jain, styling himself with grandiose titles like “baron of Westarctica”, managed to fly abroad 200 times, with the UK and Dubai frequently on his itinerary. According to findings, the Special Task Force (STF) unearthed 25 shell companies and 10 overseas bank accounts connected to his name.

Among his close allies was Ahsan Ali Syed, an India-born businessman who, as recounted by SP Raj Kumar Mishra (Noida STF), was apprehended in London in 2022 and later extradited to Switzerland for a multi-million-dollar loan fraud. Syed received a six-and-a-half-year sentence after being found guilty by a Swiss court of fraud and absconding with brokerage money intended as loans for 16 companies, as per TOI report.

Jain and Syed had filed for the registration of several companies, including State Trading Corporation Ltd and East India Company UK Ltd in Britain, Island General Trading Co LLC in the UAE, Indira Overseas Ltd in Mauritius and Cameron Ispat Sarl in Cameroon. The STF, as reported by TOI, is now investigating these firms to establish whether they served as fronts for money laundering, tax evasion or other illicit activities.

Investigators are scrutinising two PAN cards recovered from Jain’s Kavi Nagar residence, probing the associated bank accounts. Authorities found Jain operated six bank accounts in Dubai, three in the UK and one each in Mauritius and India.

Senior officials were cited by TOI as saying that more than Rs 23 lakh had been deposited in one of Jain’s local accounts over the last two to three years, with transfers subsequently routed to other accounts. The probe into the money trail is ongoing, with further details sought from banks involved.

During the raid, authorities also seized four cars fitted with diplomatic number plates, three of which were over 15 years old and reportedly used in hawala operations. The luxury vehicles belonged variously to Jain’s father-in-law, business associates and shell firms in Delhi.

One Mercedes, labelled ‘Honorary Consul Baron Westarctica’, belonged to his father-in-law, Anand Jain. Another, with ‘Honorary Consigliere Principato di Seborga’ plates, was co-owned by Ghaziabad and Hardoi residents. Cops suspect these were props to lure victims with fake overseas job offers or deals.

The STF suspects the opulent trappings, boulevard-style bungalow, doctored photographs with international figures and upmarket cars, were all tools in Jain’s elaborate facade. The arrangement is believed to have lured job seekers and businesses into paying for sham overseas placements and non-existent deals, while also helping to facilitate a hawala network funnelled through shell companies. Two household staff, Ishwar Singh and Hemant Kumar Rajvanshi, have now been listed as witnesses in the unfolding case.

Officers quoted by TOI described Jain’s ostentatious hospitality, stating that he lived lavishly, hiring four to five bouncers for regular parties and more than 10 when entertaining influential business guests. A diary containing hundreds of names, contacts and financial entries was recovered and has become a key piece of evidence in the case. SP Mishra was cited by TOI as saying that investigators had prepared questions based on the diary and would interrogate Jain once they obtained custody.