Hawala: Fake envoy to micronations arrested

For almost a decade, you could head to a two-storey bungalow in Ghaziabad’s Kavi Nagar, where 47-year-old Harsha Vardhan Jain was allegedly (fraudulently) acting as the envoy for the micronations of Westarctica, Seborga and Lodonia, and the fictitious country of Paulovia—the first three insignificant and controversial specs on the world map, and the fourth a “virtual micronation”.

- Arun Singh and Rohit Kumar Singh

But the conman’s considerable luck ran out late on Tuesday after the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (UP-STF) arrested him from his rented accommodation in Ghaziabad. Police said that under the cover of a consulate, he allegedly undertook illegal activities, such as facilitating hawala transactions and helping domestic clients set up offshore companies and accounts.

He also allegedly used his stature as an “envoy” to assure people that he could get them jobs and university spots abroad on cash payments, investigators said.

“He used diplomatic number plates on his vehicles and morphed photos with prominent figures like the PM and President to impress people...His main activities included running a hawala racket through shell companies,” said Uttar Pradesh additional director general of police (law and order), Amitabh Yash.