Shuming Zou’s Melbourne apartment seized by ATO over $27m tax debt
The tax office is set to auction a Melbourne apartment to recover some of the $27m in unpaid tax after its owner fled overseas, as authorities continue a years-long pursuit.
Sarah PerilloExclusive
The Australian Business Network
February 10, 2026 - 2:23PM
The Australian Tax Office has spent years chasing nearly $27m in unpaid tax from a Chinese national who fled Australia and vanished overseas, leaving authorities scrambling to claw back the money.
A string of documents seen by News Corp reveal the ATO has been locked in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse with Shuming Zou, 72, who quietly left Australia for China in November 2019 and never returned.
The pursuit has now culminated in the seizure and forced sale of Mr Zou’s Docklands apartment in Melbourne, which is set to go under the hammer on Thursday.
Investigators allege Mr Zou secretly funnelled $24m into Australia from offshore and failed to declare the funds in his tax returns, prompting a major investigation.
Property records show Mr Zou and his wife once held at least five properties across Sydney, including a sprawling Burwood home that sold for $4.5m in 2017.
Mr Zou’s spouse, ‘Xiao’, is listed as the current registered owner of a property on Murrell St in Ashfield, inner west Sydney.
He is also listed as a former director of companies Restwell Investment, Z & X Development, Jincheng Investment and HYT Investment, all of which have since been deregistered, according to ASIC records.
Mr Zou loaned more than USD$2m to then ASX-listed Kimberley Diamonds in September 2016, according to historical annual reports.
That same year, Restwell Investment agreed to acquire USD$6m worth of diamonds from the company.
Kimberley Diamonds was an Australian-based explorer and miner with assets in Australia, Botswana and Spain.
Its flagship Ellendale mine in Western Australia was the world’s leading source of rare yellow diamonds, with output sold to Laurelton Diamonds Inc, a Tiffany & Co subsidiary.
The company was delisted from the ASX in March 2017 following financial collapse, the closure of Ellendale, and problems at its Lerala mine in Botswana.
In December 2020, with Mr Zou already overseas, the ATO issued a formal demand requiring him to secure a future tax bill estimated at $24.7m by handing over a first-ranking mortgage on his Docklands apartment.
He ignored the demand.
Fearing Mr Zou would offload his assets and leave Australian taxpayers footing the bill, the ATO rushed to court.
2 min readIn April 2021, the Federal Court froze the Docklands property, blocking any sale after finding there was a real risk the asset would disappear.
The apartment was unmortgaged and had already been listed for sale.
Justice Davies found Mr Zou had “grossly understated his income” over a number of years.
“Mr Zou appears to have business interests in China and the ability and motive to sell the property and move funds offshore,” she said when handing down her judgement in 2021.
“He has also … been uncooperative with the Commissioner … and demonstrated a lack of willingness to comply with his obligations.”
By August 2022, the debt had ballooned into a $26.97m judgment, covering unpaid tax, penalties and interest for the 2016-2018 financial years.
Mr Zou, who was born in Hangzhou, China, did not appear in court and filed no defence.
The original freezing orders meant the Sheriff couldn’t legally sell the apartment, forcing the ATO back to court yet again.
In March 2025, a judge finally cleared the way, ruling the property sale was the “intended outcome” of enforcing the debt.
The apartment, on Collins St, is now scheduled for auction on Thursday, despite Mr Zou still owing more than $1300 in council rates, documents lodged with Sheriff’s Office Victoria show.
Mr Zou’s accountant was listed as Electronic Taxation & Accounting, which lists its principal place of business on Sussex St in Sydney’s CBD, formerly on Hercules St in Ashfield, and its director as Tak Bo Cheng.
An ATO spokesman told News Corp they were unable to comment on the tax affairs of any individual or entity due to their obligations of confidentiality under the
