NEW DELHI: Police in India have arrested a man accused of running a fake embassy from a rented house near New Delhi and duping job seekers out of money with promises of overseas employment. Harsh Vardhan Jain, 47, was operating an “illegal West Arctic embassy by renting a house” in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, which neigbhours the capital, local police said.

Police say he posed as a diplomat for fictional countries to exploit jobseekers and launder money through shell firms.

For almost eight years, an Indian man hid a range of criminal activities behind fake diplomatic missions before finally being caught this week.