After the Uttar Pradesh Police’s Special Task Force (STF) busted a fake embassy operating from a rented house in Ghaziabad’s Kavi Nagar, and arrested a man who claimed to be the “Ambassador of Westarctica”, the police on Thursday said that they have uncovered a complex international financial web – stretching from Rajasthan’s marble mines to banks in Dubai, Mauritius and the United Kingdom.In a statement released on Wednesday, the STF said that 47-year-old Harsh Vardhan Jain had registered multiple shell companies abroad and maintained at least 11 bank accounts in four countries.It added that Jain’s financial operations dated back to nearly two decades and were built on a “modus operandi of fraud, hawala and brokerage” carried out under the garb of international diplomacy.The police said that Jain, who was arrested late Tuesday, has admitted during questioning that he worked closely with controversial figures like godman Chandraswami and arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi during his time in London.He also allegedly partnered with Ehsan Ali Syed, a Hyderabad-based businessman who took Turkish citizenship and is now serving a six-and-a-half-year sentence in Switzerland for defrauding multiple companies by promising large loans and taking brokerage fees in advance. A signage of ‘Embassy of Westarctica’. Jain’s financial operations dated back to nearly two decades and were built on a “modus operandi of fraud, hawala and brokerage” carried out under the garb of international diplomacy. (Express Photo)According to the STF, Jain’s ties to Syed were facilitated by Chandraswami, who introduced the two during Jain’s stay in London in the early 2000s. It added that one of Syed’s firms, Western Advisory Group – based in Switzerland and Bahrain – collected over 25 million pounds in brokerage from Swiss companies between 2008 and 2011.Also Read | Fabricated diplomatic identity, morphed photos, forged MEA credentials: How a man ran ’embassy’ of Westarctica in Ghaziabad“In collaboration with Ehsan, Harsh Vardhan formed several shell firms, including State Trading Corporation Limited, East India Company UK Limited, Island General Trading Co LLC (UK), Indira Overseas Limited (Mauritius), and Cameron Ispat SARL (Cameroon),” the STF said.Story continues below this adInvestigators have also identified at least six bank accounts that have been linked to Jain in UAE, three in UK, one in Mauritius, and one in India, the STF said.According to the STF, Jain’s father J D Jain was a reputed industrialist and the owner of Jain Rolling Mill in Ghaziabad. “…there were mines in Banswara and Kakroli in Rajasthan by the name of Indira Marbles and ‘JD Marbles’, where (Jain) has also worked. Marble was also exported to London from these mines,” it added. The fake embassy operated from a rented house in Ghaziabad’s Kavi Nagar. (Express Photo)In his statement, the police said, Jain has said that after completing his education, he had moved to Dubai in 2006 and allegedly began duping businessmen in the name of providing jobs abroad. “He worked as a broker in Gulf and African countries. When he returned to India in 2011, he resumed operations from his family home before shifting to the rented bungalow,” the STF statement said.Jain, who the police said holds an MBA degree from London, had allegedly been using his connections and the illusion of a diplomatic clout to convince businessmen that he could secure them international deals and jobs abroad. “He used false flags, fake diplomatic number plates, forged passports and seals to give the impression of being an influential international broker,” Senior Superintendent of Police (STF) Ghule Sushil Chandrabhan had told The Indian Express.Story continues below this adHe had also acquired honorary ‘ambassador’ and ‘consigliere’ titles from several self-styled micronations like Seborga, Poulvia, and Lodonia, which he used to influence people and extract money, police had said.