| 1. Abdul Karim Telgi was an Indian counterfeiter, imprisoned for 30 years for the 2003 stamp paper scam. |
| 2. A TV show series, 'Scam 2003: The Telgi Story,' based on his life was released in 2023 on SonyLIV. |
| 3. He helped his family by selling fruits and attended school with the money earned. |
| 4. His brothers, Abdul Rahim and Abdul Azeem, were also involved in his illegal activities. |
| 5. Telgi transitioned from fake passports to creating fake stamp papers. |
| 6. The scam involved politicians, celebrities, and police officials. |
| 7. The scam was worth approximately Rs. 30,000 crores. |
| 8. Telgi faced legal charges in many cases and was arrested multiple times. |
| 9. Telgi passed away in 2017 due to health complications. |
| 10. After his death, the accused in the scam were released in 2018. |
| 11. His wife Shahida was also part of the scam and later wanted to donate properties obtained illegally. |
| 12. His daughter took legal action in 2022 to stop a web series based on her father's life. |
| 13. A book and television series were released based on the scam in 2022 and 2023, respectively. |
| 14. Abdul Karim Telgi was known as Karim Lala among friends and family. |
| 15. He had a relationship with Shahida Begum, the sister-in-law of his former manager. |
| 16. Telgi was suffering from diabetes, AIDS, and metabolic encephalopathy at the time of his death. |
| 17. After his father's death when he was 7-8 years old, Telgi sold fruits at Khanapur railway station to support the family. |
| 18. He worked in Saudi Arabia for seven years before returning to India and starting a travel agency called Arabian Metro Travels. |
| 19. Telgi began counterfeiting passports through his travel agency to facilitate labor export to Saudi Arabia. |
| 20. He was convicted in January 2006 and sentenced to 30 years rigorous imprisonment, with an additional 13 years in 2007 and a fine of Rs 202 crore. |
| 21. His brothers, Abdul Rahim and Abdul Hazim, were also involved in his illegal activities. |
| 22. The scarcity of Non-Judicial and Special Adhesive Stamps created the perfect market for his fake stamp papers, which were sold for sums ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 100. |
| 23. Despite declaring minimal income between 1996 and 2003 on his tax returns, a tax tribunal in Bengaluru in 2010 unearthed the colossal sum amassed from the counterfeit stamp paper racket. |
| 24. He was known to frequent dance bars and reportedly lavished Rs 90 lakh on bar dancer Tarannum Khan in a single evening. |
| 25. The investigation into the scam led to the arrest of 54 persons including two MLAs and several police officers. |
