Crime character 'Mr' Australia's Chinatown tax bill hits $54 million
According to "Herald Sun" report, a suspected Australian crime boss is currently languishing in a Chinese prison and will face a huge tax bill waiting for him when he is released from prison.
Tom "Mr." "Chinatown" Week is a junket partner of Melbourne's Crown Casino, which Australian authorities have linked to money laundering, foreign influence peddling, extortion, drugs and human trafficking.
Zhou was arrested in Fiji in 2020 and deported to his native China under a long-standing Interpol "Red Notice" arrest warrant. He was imprisoned in China for "economic crimes" for an unknown length of time.
While in Australia, he built a multi-million dollar gambling empire. This is due to his deal with Crown, which sees him sending a steady stream of ultra-high-stakes gamblers into the country from mainland China.
Intermediary Empire
In 2016, federal agents searched a Crown Resorts VIP private jet as part of a money laundering investigation. They were surprised to find Chai Ming, a client of Zhou Enlai and the nephew of Chinese President Xi Jinping, on board.
While Zhou was pondering the matter, he neglected to report the news to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The ATO determined his income in 2012 and 2013 was A$45.4 million ($30 million). However, he only reported income of A$14,000 ($9,000) to the tax office.
The ATO also claimed that Zhou's wife earned more than AU$62.5 million (US$41 million) between 2008 and 2014, while she reported income of about AU$370,000 (US$410,000).
Physical loan
Before his arrest, Zhou told the Australian Taxation Office that his additional income came from loans to two companies he controlled linked to the Wuhan market in China. He claimed the water became plentiful after the fish shop was sold, the Herald Sun reported. However, the ATO concluded the loans were fraudulent.
Zhou actually has ties to the Wuhan market. He is accused of ordering drivers to attack competitors in the sulfuric acid market, according to court documents in Hong Kong. The attack left the victim permanently scarred and too scared to testify.
In August, the Australian Federal Court froze the Zhou family's real estate assets in Melbourne worth A$30 million, preventing the sale.
Chow's name came up regularly in the months-long public inquiry into Crown's dealings with triad-related junkets, which ended with the suspension of his Sydney gambling license. This accelerated the acquisition of the company by the US private equity giant Blackstone Group.
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Source: www.casino.org
