Emirates Fabricated Covers

We received this report by the friends of the EPA and promptly publish

EMIRATES PHILATELIC ASSOCIATION
P.O. BOX 33333 – DUBAI
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
EMAIL: epa@epa.ae
5th January 2015

Emirates Fabricated Covers


During the year 2012, some fabricated envelopes were seen offered through online auctions or by specialized Middle East stamp dealers. In the meantime, EPA members were received what seems to be attractive offers of Trucial States envelopes. Since the year 2012, some of these fabricated covers continued to be offered regularly via the same outlets (eBay, delcamp, and Middle East stamp dealers). As we consider our duty to warn philatelists and highlight the source behind these fabricate material, we investigated about the source and turned out with fruitful cooperation of dealers and philatelists that sole source of such material is Arif Balgamwala of Pakistan who is in collaboration with Shahid Zaki of Pakistan. Shahid is the one who is expert in such fabrication while Airf is the one who is promoting forgery in the philatelic market, when we faced him he claims that he bought such material from deceased stamp dealer (just to mislead)! Original stamp is used on original covers with fabricated postmarks. In a single case reported a forged stamp was used along with original but canceled with forged postmark (there might be more around). Target was most of the postmarks used in different Emirates before unity, we understand they had touched other areas as well.