A Yokohama restaurant chain owned by popular Chinese cuisine chef Zhou Fuhui, known in Japan as Tomiteru Shu, allegedly evaded around 50 million yen in taxes in the three years through June 1999.

The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau has filed a complaint with the Yokohama District Public Prosecutor's Office against Zhou and his company, Seikoen, for alleged violation of the Corporation Tax Law, sources familiar with the case said Tuesday.

In the three years through June 1999, the company allegedly hid 130 million yen in income, which would have required around 50 million yen in tax payments. The company's business year ends in June.

The sources said Seikoen, which runs two restaurants with the same name in Yokohama, hid revenue by destroying sales slips. The owner reportedly deposited unreported income in banks or used it to buy bearer bonds.

Tax authorities earlier warned Tomitoku and two companies affiliated with him about failing to report a total of 150 million yen in income in the four years through 1999.

Zhou said he will submit a revised income report despite his debt-ridden finances.

The 50-year-old Fuhui and his 57-year-old brother, Fude, (better known in Japan as Tomitoku), are popular here and have appeared on TV cooking and variety shows. Fude runs a Chinese restaurant in Tokyo's posh Aoyama district.

The two brothers were both born in Japan and reportedly learned to cook at Seikoen, which was originally owned by their father, who came from Guangzhou in Guangdong Province. The chain was inherited by Tomiteru about 20 years ago.