An Australian company owned by the Indian-origin Guptas is facing investigation by the Australian Federal Police and India’s Central Board of Direct Taxes.
Getax, a supplier of phosphate, is facing allegations of bribing politicians in Nauru to access its rich phosphate deposits.
The Economic Times has reported that the Central Board of Direct Taxes is investigating money laundering by the company after detecting a flow of funds from Singapore to bank accounts in India.
ABC’s 7:30 program reported on Wednesday that Getax paid tens of thousands of dollars to the family of Nauru’s justice minister David Adeang back in 2008.
7:30 had accessed some emails last year which suggested that Gupta’s company was sending money to Nauru to a number of politicians, including Nauru’s current president Baron Waqa.
Allegations of corruption against Getax surfaced for the first time in 2010 that the company tried to buy political influence in Nauru. The allegations were vehemently denied by the Guptas at that time.
Quoting investigators, The Economic Times reported that a number of accounts of Mr. Gupta in India were under investigation. Accounts of Mr. Gupta’s wife, Sushila Gupta are also being probed which received large sums of money from Singapore over the past few years.
Getax started its operations in the late 1990s in Australia and was based on the Gold Coast. GS Gupta and his son Amit Gupta are currently living in Dubai. A lawyer for the Guptas denied the charges.
"No charges have been laid. No member of the Gupta family has been interviewed by the AFP. No allegations of money laundering have been made against Getax. No authorities have raised such issues with Getax," Peter Bartlett told ET.
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