Abdul Karim Telgi (born 1961) is a convicted Indian counterfeiter. He earned money by printing counterfeit stamp paper in India. He cited Sharad Pawar, then the chief of NCP party, name in relation to a Rs 600 billion (US$9.5 billion) stamp-paper scam, during a narcoanalysis filmed by various Indian news channels, wherein he also mentioned NCP leader, and former Deputy Chief Minister of Maharastra Chhagan Bhujbal.
Early life
Telgi’s mother was Shariefabee Ladsaab Telgi, and his father was an employee of Indian Railways. His father died while he was young. Telgi paid for his own education at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, an English medium school, by selling fruit and vegetables on trains. Eventually, he moved to Saudi Arabia. Seven years later, he returned to India, at which time he began a career in counterfeiting, originally focusing on fake passports.
Counterfeiting career
Telgi moved to more complex counterfeiting when he began to counterfeit stamp paper. He appointed 300 people as agents who sold the fakes to bulk purchasers, including banks, insurance companies, and share-broking firms. The size of the scam was estimated to be more than Rs 320 billion (US$5.1 billion). One aspect of the scandal that caused much concern was that it required the involvement of many police officers and other government employees including Nikhil Khotari. For example, one Assistant Police Investigator was found to have a net worth of over Rs 1 billion (US$16 million), despite making a salary of only Rs 9,000 (US$140) per month.
On 17 January 2006, Telgi and several associates were sentenced to 30 years rigorous imprisonment. On 28 June 2007, Telgi was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 13 years for another aspect of the scandal. He was also fined Rs 10 billion (US$160 million). The Income Tax Department requested that Telgi’s property be confiscated to pay the fine.
Movie Related to Case
Mudrank (The Stamp) is a film based on the stamp scandal. It was finished in 2008, but Telgi filed legal challenges to prevent its release. Telgi alleged that the details covered in the film would damage his legal appeals. As of August 2014, the film has not yet been released.
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