The fortune of Australian billionaire Phillip Lee, whose son recently hosted a Labor fundraising dinner attended by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, has been linked to major corruption scandals involving members of his family in China, an ABC investigation has found.The ABC can reveal Mr Lee is the son-in-law of a disgraced Chinese transport official who steered expressway construction contracts at an inflated price in southern China's Guangdong province to Mr Lee's company in the 1990s.A Chinese court in 2005 found the project cost was inflated by more than 100 million yuan ($21 million), pushing the total price tag to more than 180 million yuan ($37.6 million), at the expense of the public purse.Mr Lee has not been accused of any wrongdoing in relation to his father-in-law's actions.The revelation comes as scrutiny intensifies over the family's wealth after Mr Lee's 25-year-old son, Felix, hosted Mr Albanese, former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, and bank executives at the family's Point Piper mansion, known as Mandalay, last month. The luxury property was purchased outright by Phillip Lee and his wife, Shi Xiaobei, for $39.9 million in 2015. The dining area inside the Point Piper mansion where Mr Albanese was hosted for an exclusive dinner. (Domain)The three-level European-style mansion offered Mr Albanese panoramic views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House from its marble balcony, but there was a problem.The Sydney mansion has previously been the subject of asset-freezing orders, after the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) pursued the couple over claims of more than $278 million in unpaid tax in 2021.The ATO obtained court orders freezing the couple's Australian assets. The orders covered 17 residential, commercial and rural properties, Star City Casino accounts and luxury vehicles including a Bentley, a Rolls-Royce Ghost and a Porsche Cayenne.The Lee family denied any wrongdoing and later reached a settlement with the ATO for an unknown sum.Under that settlement, a Commonwealth charge remains registered over their properties, including Mandalay, until the debt is repaid in full.The Lee family residence, Mandalay, has sweeping views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House. (Realestate.com.au)Asked by the ABC's Insider program last month whether the ATO allegations concerned him, Mr Albanese said that he was "not aware of those issues" and noted Phillip Lee "wasn't there" on the night.However, integrity expert Geoffrey Watson said it was "grossly incompetent" and "deeply unsatisfying" for the prime minister to attend a dinner at a property connected to "a serious taxation investigation".Mr Watson, who is the founding director of the Centre for Public Integrity, said the prime minister should explain what was discussed at the dinner."Presumably, by having his ritzy dinner at this amazing property, there are going to be things said which are of value. Otherwise, it wouldn't be organised," he said."And this isn't a personal matter. It's a public matter."This is about a fundraising exercise with someone who has a lot of money, a lot of power, and a clear interest in influencing government policy."Geoffrey Watson says the public has a right to know what was discussed at the Point Piper dinner. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)Phillip and Felix Lee were not accused of any wrongdoing. In response to the ABC's questions, a spokesperson for Mr Albanese said, "We don't comment on private dinners"."Donations are a matter for the Labor Party and will be disclosed in the usual way, as is appropriate," the spokesperson said.Under the usual disclosure process, the public would not see how much money a party spent or received, including from donors, for the financial year until the following February.Mr Watson and other experts are lobbying for real-time disclosure, which would notify the public of political donations as they were made."If I get out of an Uber, I will have my receipt within 30 seconds," Mr Watson said."There is no real impediment to providing real-time disclosure of the sources of political money."Corruption scandals linked to family fortuneUntil now, key details of the Lee family's past business dealings in China have received little public attention in Australia despite the billionaire's pattern of lavish spending.The ABC has traced the family's fortune using findings by Chinese anti-corruption authorities and state media reports, Chinese business records, and material from the ATO investigation into the couple's assets and income.An affidavit filed in the Federal Court in 2021 by a lead ATO investigator reveals a small but important detail: Mr Lee changed his name in 2001.This was just months before Phillip Lee and his wife Shi Xiaobei became Australian citizens in 2002.According to the ATO affidavit, Phillip Lee was previously known as Xie Fei. "Xie" being Phillip Lee's late father's surname, while Li is his mother's surname.An affidavit filed by the Australian Tax Office with the Federal Court reveals that Phillip Lee changed his name in 2001.