Abdul Karim Telgi

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 ₹200 billion (US$3.0 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 Maharashtra Chhagan Bhujbal.

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 Khanapur, 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.

Telgi moved to more complex counterfeiting when he began to counterfeit stamp paper. He appointed 350 people as agents who sold the fakes to bulk purchasers, including banks, insurance companies, and stock brokerage firms. The size of the scam was estimated to be more than ₹200 billion (US$3.0 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, despite making a salary of only ₹9,000 (US$130) per month. Then police officer S M Mushrif, known for the book Who Who killed Karkare took decisive measures on this case.

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 ₹10 billion (US$150 million). The Income Tax Department requested that Telgi's property be confiscated to pay the fine.

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^[update], the film has not yet been released.

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