💲 The Karim Telgi Scam 2003

Humble Beginnings

Born in July 1961 in Khanapur (then Karnataka), Telgi came from modest means. His father died early, and young Telgi helped his mother by selling peanuts and fruit on trains—to fund his schooling at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya and later a B.Com from Belgaum’s Gogte College of Commerce hindustantimes.com+15en.wikipedia.org+15indianexpress.com+15.

In the ‘80s, he briefly worked at the railway canteen before relocating to Saudi Arabia, only to return after seven years and embark on a path that would shock the nation m.economictimes.com+2theweek.in+2livemint.com+2.

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💼 First Steps into Fraud

Upon returning to Mumbai, Telgi opened Arabian Metro Travels, ostensibly to send laborers abroad. The business soon became a front for forging passports and emigration papers—a practice known as “pushing.” He was first arrested in 1991 for forgery, and during his time in prison, he met stockbroker Ram Ratan Soni, who would introduce him to the counterfeit stamp paper racket indianexpress.com+7cnbctv18.com+7en.wikipedia.org+7.

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🏭 Building an Empire of Fake Stamp Papers

Emerging back into society in the mid‑1990s, Telgi acquired a license to trade in stamp paper. He cleverly recre­ated a shortage by acquiring decommissioned machines (likely from the Nashik Security Press) and using them to print high-quality forgeries—from non-judicial papers to share transfer certificates indiatoday.in+15cnbctv18.com+15thestatesman.com+15.

He recruited a network of ~300 agents and sold these fake papers en masse to institutions—banks, insurance and brokerage firms—at discounted rates indiatoday.in+7en.wikipedia.org+7m.economictimes.com+7. Estimates of the scam's value range between ₹20,000 to ₹30,000 crore