Jain affair
- This article deals with current events and may not be up to date.
The Jain affair is an ongoing scandal involving the arrest of H.V. Jain, a peer of Westarctica who was formerly a member of the Honorary Consular Corps of Westarctica. He was also a citizen of other micronations, including Flandrensis, Ladonia, and Seborga.
Baron Jain was arrested in India on 22 July 2025 for suspected financial crimes and fraud.
Background
On 13 April 2016, Grand Duke Travis received an email from Harsh Vardhan Jain, an individual who presented himself as a successful businessman with ties to politicians in India. He requested to be appointed as a diplomatic representative; however, his email was not answered or acted upon when it was received. Seven months later, on 8 November 2016, Mr. Jain made a donation to Westarctica and was granted the peerage title "Baron H.V. Jain." This unusual title was specifically requested by him, rather than the more conventional practice of assigning a peerage title connected with the name of a landmark within Westarctica.
Concurrent with his title, Baron Jain was also appointed Honorary Consul to India as one of the first members of the Honorary Consular Corps. He was required to complete the Honorary Consul Training Program before receiving his commission.
There was little interaction between Baron Jain and the Government of Westarctica after his appointment. He was given an official Westarctica email account on 10 July 2018, but there is no evidence he ever actively utilized it.
In January 2021, the 1st Duke of Goldstream, then serving as Foreign Minister requested that Baron Jain assist him with an Indian citizen who was pestering the government for a diplomatic appointment. He evidently did so to the duke's satisfaction, but was otherwise quiet in regard to Westarctican affairs. When the Duke of Goldstream resigned from the Royal Council the following month, Baron Jain informed the government that he wished to continue in his role as Honorary Consul to India.
Start of the affair
Mr. Jain was not heard from again until the new Deputy Foreign Minister contacted him with a request for an update on his activities as a representative of Westarctica in July 2025. On 15 July, Mr. Jain replied to the Deputy Foreign Minister with a list of his activities as well as pictures showing how he had outfitted his residence with the Flag of Westarctica. He also showed a line of luxury automobiles which had Westarctica flags on the hoods and what appeared to be diplomatic license plates.
Among his stated activities included:
- Organizing free food distribution to approximately 1,000 people 5 - 6 times a year, outside his residence.
- Speaking about Westarctica's environmental mission with visitors and passersby who inquire about the Westarctica flag and signage on his house.
Grand Duke Travis was so impressed by Mr. Jain's enthusiasm that he posted the pictures of the automobiles and residential space on Westarctica's social media platforms that same day (15 July 2025). He was also promoted from the rank of Honorary Consul to Consul-General.
Initial investigation
In addition to his charitable activities, Mr. Jain had been visiting local businesses and assuring them that Westarctica was interested in establishing high-value trade deals with their companies to import essential goods such as food, tea, and clothing. In return for his services as a deal-broker, Jain accepted payments ranging from $200 - $2,000 USD from dozens of merchants. He is estimated to have collected around $10,000 USD each month.
When these lucrative trade deals failed to materialize, the merchants gathered together and filed a complaint with the police. Mr. Jain was brought in for questioning in March 2025, but released while the police conducted their investigation.
Arrest of H.V. Jain
On Tuesday, 22 July, the Uttar Pradesh Police's Special Task Force (STF) raided Mr. Jain's residence in the upscale neighborhood of Kavi Nagar in the city of Ghaziabad, just outside of New Delhi and took him into custody. They also seized most of his personal belongings, including a fleet of luxury automobiles, luxury watches, the house itself, and gigantic stacks of cash totaling over $50,000 USD in various currencies.
Among the incriminating items the authorities found included:
- 12 forged passports for various countries
- Forged ID documents
- 18 illegal license plates
- 37 counterfeit corporate and government seals
The state's allegations against Mr. Jain included:
- Promising workers employment opportunities overseas, collecting fees, and then not delivering on his promises.
- Selling counterfeit visas which proved to be useless.
- Selling illegitimate diplomatic credentials, including number plates.
- Running a hawala (money transfer) network through various shell companies.
It was also alleged that to gain victim's trust, he had modified pictures to show himself meeting famous politicians such as former President of India A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. The investigation revealed that he may have had legitimate business connections with billionaire arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi.
Charges filed against Jain
Under the revised criminal code of India (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023), Mr. Jain was charged with two counts:
- Section 417. BNS 2023 Cheating: Deceiving a person by taking money without fulfilling promised actions or conveying property in return.
- Section 467. BNS 2023 Forgery of Official Seals and Documents: Possessing, creating, or using falsified or counterfeit official instruments and passing them off as legitimate.
The two charges carry a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison, plus fines for the cheating charge.
Press attention
The following day, numerous India-based press outlets broke the story of H.V. Jain's arrest. The Times of India, India Today, Ghaziabad Now, and The Free Press Journal were the first media companies to release stories, videos, and pictures showing a gaunt-looking Mr. Jain in police custody.
Each of these press outlets highlighted Mr. Jain's association with Westarctica as a diplomat, as well as his connection with Seborga and the Royal Republic of Ladonia, although he did not represent Ladonia in an official capacity. These stories derisively referred to micronations as "fake countries," but did not attempt to connect Jain's illegal activities with their legitimate operations.
The Indian Express, a major international english language newspaper, ran the story on their front page on 24 July under the headline "'Westarctica': Ghaziabad conman held for running fake embassy." Press coverage continued in India throughout the week, as it was considered a major story from the point of view of financial fraud which utilized a micronation as its cover.
Online news networks lept on the story and dove into the origin of Westarctica as well as Jain's background in business. Some of their more colorful characterizations of the Jain's operation included:
- NDTV ran a series of videos about the arrest under the headline "'Scam'bassy Of 'Westarctica' in Ghaziabad busted."
- WION's video expose of the scandal was titled: "Fake Nation, Real Crime: West Arctica 'Embassy' Busted."
- India Blooms News Service called Jain's residence an "Embassy of Lies."
- News18 christened Jain "The Ultimate Con Star Of Ghaziabad."
- Ahmedabad Mirror published a cartoon featuring Mr. Jain offering "CONsulate service."
On 25 July, The New York Times published a story with updated details of Mr. Jain's arrest. It was the first news outlet to include a statement from Grand Duke Travis denouncing Jain's activities, distancing his illegal activities from his legitimate position as a representative of Westarctica. On 26 July, the story was published again in the print edition of The New York Times on page 6 of section A under the headline "How a 'Baron' in India Made Up His Own Embassy."
Westarctica's involvement
The police evidence video of Mr. Jain's residence included significant footage of Westarctica flags found in his office, surrounding property, and on his automobiles. Additionally, some press outlets stated he had diplomatic passports for Westarctica. Of his four luxury automobiles, two were outfitted with Westarctica license plates showing his status as an Honorary Consul, while the other two cars had license plates and flags of Seborga.
- Black Audi - Seborga
- Black Mercedes - Westarctica
- White Jaguar - Westarctica
- White Hyundai - Seborga
Many of the press outlets used an image of a reflective gold plaque which Mr. Jain had mounted on the front gate of his house bearing the text: "Grand Duchy of Westarctica - Embassy." Calling his residence an "embassy," creating diplomatic number plates, and creating a diplomatic passport were all violations of protocol for an Honorary Consul. These matters were covered in the Honorary Consul Training Program, meaning that aside from his other allegedly illegal activities, Mr. Jain was also breaking the rules of conduct established for diplomatic representatives of Westarctica.
As a result of these infractions, his tenure as Consul-General to India was terminated and he was swiftly removed from the roster of Honorary Consuls.
Official response
When first notified of the ongoing scandal by the Deputy Foreign Minister, Grand Duke Travis remarked, "It's a goddamn unmitigated disaster!" However, as more information was released in the press, it became apparent that Baron Jain's illegal activities were not connected to his work as a representative for Westarctica.
In response to the news stories, Grand Duke Travis quickly initiated a media blitz to contain the debacle. He released a printed statement explaining the situation to Westarctica's citizens and announcing that Mr. Jain was no longer serving as a Westarctican diplomat. Then, he recorded a video statement re-stating that Mr. Jain was acting independently and his illegal activities were unknown to anyone in Westarctica. His Royal Highness also pledged to cooperate fully with law enforcement.
Simultaneously, the Deputy Foreign Minister reached out to Baron Jain to attempt to get his side of the story and gain a better understanding of the allegations against him.
As the situation develops, if Mr. Jain is found guilty, he will likely be disbarred and stripped of his title, or at the very least, declared a disgraced noble.