Police say he posed as a diplomat for fictional countries to exploit jobseekers and launder money through shell firms
The suspect, 47-year-old Harshvardhan Jain, had styled himself the “Baron of Westartica” and projected the image of a globe-trotting diplomat, complete with diplomatic vehicles, forged documents and Photoshopped images of him alongside world leaders. But authorities say his real enterprise was far more mundane – and criminal.
Jain allegedly duped jobseekers by promising them employment abroad and laundered money through shell companies via the hawala system – an informal, unregulated method of transferring funds that operates outside traditional banking channels – according to the Special Task Force of Uttar Pradesh Police.
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