The promoter of Agrifields DMCC — a rock phosphate and fertilizer company — Amit Gupta, is facing increased scrutiny as the Australian Federal Police investigation against him and his previous company Getax advances.
Amit Gupta is reported to be the subject of criminal proceedings in multiple jurisdictions. As noted in The Logical Indian’s separate coverage of this matter, the existence of an Interpol Red Notice has not been independently verified by this publication — a search of Interpol’s public database returned no publicly listed notice for Gupta. Interpol states that the majority of Red Notices are restricted to law enforcement use and are not published publicly.
Australian Federal Police investigation
Sydney Morning Herald’s award-winning journalist Nick McKenzie (twice awarded the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year and the Kennedy Award) reported that, according to US court documents, Getax director Amit Gupta was described as “the target of a criminal investigation who is alleged to have conspired with others to bribe foreign public officials and to have engaged in money laundering and other offences.”
In 2024, the Sydney Morning Herald published a further report describing Gupta as an “alleged corporate crime kingpin and fugitive from justice” who had built a global business worth an estimated $800 million, and reported that in 2020 the AFP moved to seize multiple properties and bank accounts connected to Gupta in Australia, Singapore and New York worth an estimated $200 million.
McKenzie also reported: “Leaked corporate and banking documents reveal how Gupta’s companies generated a system of fictitious invoices and expenses to move money out of Australia, and how he avoided millions in Australian taxes.”
Indian proceedings
In India, various government offices are scrutinising Gupta’s business dealings and financial affairs, including the Income Tax Department of India, which issued multiple income tax notices against Gupta and his family between March and July 2022 exceeding 1,700 crore rupees. Gupta also faces a 700 crore fraud allegation in India concerning a real estate company, Sunland Projects Pvt Ltd, details of which are reported in The Logical Indian’s separate coverage of the Kolkata FIR. (Source: Bhaskar Live)
Business and trade context
In 2019, Agrifields DMCC, alongside two other entities, purchased Baobab Mining and Chemicals Corporation, a phosphate plant in Senegal, as previously reported by Business Insider Africa.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, when the world price for rock phosphate rose to almost $400 per metric tonne in 2008, Getax was paying as little as $43 per metric tonne. The AFP investigation is reported to have examined how such pricing arrangements were structured and whether they involved payments to officials, according to reporting by the Sydney Morning Herald.
The Logical Indian will continue to report on developments in this matter as they become publicly available.
Editor’s note: This article reports on an FIR filed by Kolkata Police in December 2023 and related legal proceedings. All allegations described herein are unproven and are drawn from court documents, FIR filings, or reporting by third-party publications. Amit Gupta is presumed innocent unless and until convicted by a competent court. References to proceedings in other jurisdictions are included as background context only and do not imply any finding of guilt in those matters.
Amit Gupta and his legal representatives have not responded to the allegations reported in this article. The Logical Indian welcomes any clarification, correction, or response from Mr. Gupta or his representatives at editor@thelogicalindian.com. Any response received will be published promptly as an update to this article.
