FBI investigates Indian-origin fake CIA agent

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents in Los Angeles are investigating a fake spy Gaurav Srivastava, who is facing criminal allegations of wire fraud, money laundering, and falsely representing himself as a US federal official and US citizen, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has revealed.

In a comprehensive investigation, senior WSJ reporter Joe Wallace wrote in its sensational article “A Fake Spy, Russian Oil and $1 Million Funneled to Democrats” that Gaurav Srivastava, an Indian businessman now infamous for his ‘fake CIA agent’ scam, is under scrutiny for hijacking the US system and posing a threat to the US national security through his fraudulent activity undertaken over several years.

Informed by legal documents, financial records, interviews and recordings, the WSJ’s story paints a picture of a college dropout who blagged his way into the upper echelons of Washington’s political scene through a combination of bare-faced lies and stolen money.

Srivastava, who met President Joe Biden and allegedly donated more than $1 million to the Democrats, all while claiming to be a clandestine operative of the CIA, is increasingly viewed as a national security threat in the US. Moreover, a political storm is brewing on Capitol Hill as Republicans and others seek to understand how a green-card holder, born in Lucknow, India, can buy unchecked access into the highest echelons of the Democratic Party.

Those conned by Srivastava – or ‘Mr G’, as he liked to be known – include General Wesley Clark, the former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO; the Atlantic Council thinktank; several Democratic fundraising committees; multiple Senators and Congressmen, including Senator Mark Warner and Representative Patrick Ryan; a Geneva-based commodities trader; several African leaders; and the President of Indonesia. Many of these individuals stepped away from Srivastava of their own accord after questioning his integrity, while others dropped him after the exposé on him.

The scam was originally reported in October 2023 by former Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bradley Hope in his investigative outlet, Project Brazen. Srivastava has repeatedly attempted to have all reporting of his activities removed from the public domain, including through a deceitful lawsuit against several publications in Pakistan and India and through fraudulently-made attempts to have articles de-listed from Google under US copyright laws.

After a dubious “interrogation” by a French financier, Nicolas Bravard, whom Srivastava allegedly claimed was an “FBI friend,” Srivastava convinced Troost to transfer 50 per cent of his company, Paramount Energy & Commodities, to Bravard as a proxy. The funds from this deal were reportedly used for political donations, establishing a new office, and purchasing a $24.5m villa in Los Angeles’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood.

The nature of this purchase, involving apparent deception of an Indonesian company, is central to the wire fraud allegations against Srivastava. As suspicion grew at Paramount, Srivastava’s claims became increasingly desperate, including fabricated assertions of being one of 30 top-secret agents working with the CIA and financier Warren Buffett, who was purportedly involved in running the CIA’s pension plan — a claim Buffett denied.

Srivastava’s lawyer admits their client never spoke to CIA Director William Burns, dismissing Srivastava’s claims as fabrications, though they declined to specify the source of the falsehood.

Recently, Srivastava and his wife Sharon have faced two separate fraud cases in California. Additionally, a former landlord, Stephen McPherson, has sued Srivastava for failing to vacate a $12m Santa Monica home after his lease expired, accusing him of dishonesty and unpaid rent.