In the early hours of June 19, 2013, an Australian businessman boarded an international flight under intense fear and uncertainty. Just hours before, federal police had raided the Gold Coast residence of Amit Gupta, marking a dramatic turn in a case that would later span continents and expose alleged corporate wrongdoing on a global scale.
Australian investigators had reportedly spent weeks tapping Gupta’s phone while probing explosive allegations that he had financed a political coup in the small Pacific island nation of Nauru. According to investigators, multiple politicians were allegedly bribed in a bid to topple the sitting government. The objective, authorities believe, was to gain complete control over Nauru’s lucrative phosphate mining rights, the country’s primary economic lifeline.
At that moment, Gupta feared arrest could lead to years behind bars. Yet, those tense hours proved short-lived. As his flight took off, his future appeared to open up rather than close down.
Over the following decade, Amit Gupta — described by investigators as an alleged corporate crime kingpin and fugitive from justice — went on to build a global business empire estimated to be worth around $800 million. Australian media later tracked him to Dubai, where he received a major legal reprieve.
In a significant setback for Australian authorities, efforts to extradite Gupta collapsed after Dubai authorities rejected the request on a legal technicality. Australian police alleged that Gupta had conspired to bribe Nauruan politicians years earlier. However, Gupta successfully argued that since the alleged offence was not considered a crime under UAE law at the time, extradition was legally impossible. The UAE authorities accepted this argument and dismissed the request in February 2023, a development that remained largely unreported until now.
The Nauru bribery scandal first surfaced publicly in 2010, when reports claimed Australian police and intelligence agencies were examining a plan to effectively turn Nauru into a “puppet state.” The allegations suggested that Gupta and his relatives sought exclusive control over phosphate mining by manipulating the island’s political leadership.
The Australian Federal Police took two years to begin phone surveillance in October 2012, followed by a raid on Gupta’s home eight months later. By 2015, reports indicated that criminal charges could be imminent. By then, Gupta had already fled Australia and was living abroad.
Leaked emails allegedly linked to Gupta revealed what investigators described as a systematic bribery operation aimed at Nauru’s most powerful political figures. The alleged goal was to secure long-term mining contracts and exclusive commercial advantages for Gupta’s family-controlled businesses. Such actions, authorities warned, threatened the political stability and democratic foundations of the island nation, home to just 13,000 people.
Financial and corporate records obtained by journalists suggest that Gupta’s alleged misconduct extended far beyond Nauru. Banking documents indicate suspected bribe payments to senior officials in Algeria for African mining concessions. Records also allege that a financially vulnerable Indian national was used as a “straw man” director in one of Gupta’s companies, and that fake invoices were generated for phosphate purchases from countries such as Togo.
Further leaked documents reveal an alleged system of fictitious expenses and invoices designed to move money out of Australia, potentially enabling the avoidance of millions of dollars in Australian taxes. The AFP’s long-running Getax investigation reportedly tracked these global money flows for years.
In 2020, Australian federal police moved to seize properties and bank accounts connected to Gupta across Australia, Singapore, and New York, assets collectively estimated to be worth around $200 million.
After leaving Australia, Gupta launched a new global fertiliser business named Agrifields DMCC, now central to ongoing scrutiny surrounding his international corporate operations.
Disclaimer
This article is an unedited, unmodified extract and adaptation based on reporting originally published by The Sydney Morning Herald and written by award-winning Australian journalist Nick McKenzie. The original article was released on March 9, 2024. This content is published for informational purposes only and does not represent additional investigation or independent verification by the portal.
