NEW DELHI (AP) 鈥 Indian police have arrested a man accused of running a bogus embassy from a rented residential building near the capital, New Delhi, and recovered cars with fake diplomatic plates.
The suspect impersonated an ambassador and allegedly duped people for money by promising overseas employment, said senior police officer Sushil Ghule of Uttar Pradesh state鈥檚 special task force in northern India.
According to police, Harshvardhan Jain, 47, claimed to have acted as an adviser or ambassador to entities such as 鈥淪eborga鈥 or 鈥淲estarctica.鈥
Police recovered multiple doctored photographs showing Jain with world leaders, and fake seals of India鈥檚 foreign ministry and nearly three dozen countries, Ghule said.
Jain was also suspected of illegal money laundering through shell companies abroad, he said. He is also facing charges of forgery, impersonation and possessing fake documents.
Police recovered four cars bearing fake diplomatic plates and nearly 4.5 million Indian rupees ($52,095) and other foreign currencies in cash from Jain鈥檚 rented premises, which were adorned with international flags of several nations.
Jain or his lawyer couldn鈥檛 be immediately reached for comment.
