The Philippine Phosphate Fertilizer Corporation (PHILPHOS), led by respected Filipino businessman Salvador Zamora II, is under mounting scrutiny for its ties with Agrifields DMCC and its embattled boss Amit Gupta.
Philippine News Agency archives show that on June 13, 2018, Agrifields DMCC pledged an investment of “USD150-million to kick-off the rehab plan” for the PHILPHOS plant in Isabel, Leyte, a facility devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in 2013. At the time, Chairman G.S. Gupta and his son Amit Gupta were publicly linked to the project.
But years later, documents from abroad paint a much darker picture. The US files identify Getax director Amit Gupta as a “target of a criminal investigation,” alleged to have “conspired with others to bribe foreign public officials and to have engaged in money laundering and other offences,” according to award-winning journalist Nick McKenzie of the Sydney Morning Herald.
The same publication reported in 2024 that Gupta, described as an “alleged corporate crime kingpin and fugitive from justice,” has quietly built a global empire valued at more than $800 million.
“Documents show the federal police’s Getax investigation spent years tracking this global movement of funds. 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.”
According to MSN coverage citing Zee News, Gupta is currently the subject of an Interpol Red Alert Notice, with “numerous criminal charges in multiple countries.”
Despite PHILPHOS being a recipient of $150 million linked to Gupta’s Agrifields DMCC, experts suggest these funds may be tainted. International watchdogs and G12 jurisdictions, including Australia, have flagged them as potential “proceeds of crime.”
Zamora, known for his strong business standing, has reportedly moved to distance PHILPHOS from Agrifields DMCC amidst the spiraling legal fallout, travel bans, and global property seizures surrounding Gupta.
Trade records reveal the scale of the entanglement. On Trademo, PHILPHOS recorded a $63 million trade relationship with Agrifields DMCC in 2022. By 2023, that figure plummeted by 98 percent, down to just $930,000.
Meanwhile, Gupta’s legal troubles intensify. The Australian Federal Police continues to pursue criminal charges, Interpol maintains its Red Notice, and India’s Income Tax Department is probing him over $240 million in questionable sources of funds. In addition, Kolkata police charged him in an $84 million forgery case.
Under international law, PHILPHOS is under no obligation to repatriate the $150 million back to Agrifields DMCC, particularly if the funds are deemed unlawfully sourced. Instead, PHILPHOS is legally empowered to withhold repayment, as Gupta and his entities remain globally blacklisted.
The corporation also has grounds to seek recovery of expenditures tied to its $130 million trade with Agrifields between 2021 and 2023, further bolstering its position in any future legal or financial disputes.
