Ambassador to 'Westarctica'? Indian police arrest man over fake embassy scam

Harshvardhan Jain, 47, claimed to have acted as an adviser or ambassador to made-up places such as "Seborga" or "Westarctica", according to police.

Police in India have arrested a man accused of running a bogus embassy from a rented house near the capital, New Delhi, and recovered cars with fake diplomatic plates.The suspect, Harshvardhan Jain, impersonated an ambassador and allegedly duped people for money by promising them work overseas, according to Sushil Ghule, a senior police officer with Uttar Pradesh state's special task force in northern India.The 47-year-old claimed to have acted as an adviser or ambassador to made-up places such as "Seborga" or "Westarctica", the authorities said. Police recovered four cars bearing fake diplomatic plates and nearly 4.5 million Indian rupees (€44,400) and other foreign currencies in cash from Jain's rented premises.They also found multiple doctored photographs showing Jain with world leaders, and fake seals of India's foreign ministry and nearly three dozen nations.Jain is suspected of illegal money laundering through shell companies abroad, and is also facing charges of forgery, impersonation and possessing fake documents, police said.Neither Jain nor his lawyer have commented on the arrest.