THE Australian Taxation Office has applied to bankrupt developer Sebastian Monsour.

Monsour, 45, of Enoggera, was hit with a creditor's petition dated July 29 demanding payment of $225,944 ordered by the District Court in Brisbane on April 5.

The petition, filed in the Federal Circuit Court, states that the ATO is applying to bankrupt Mr Monsour, the brother of former Queensland premier Campbell Newman's wife, Lisa, because he failed to comply with a bankruptcy notice served him on May 8.

Mr Monsour is the one-time boss of property developer Majella Group, based in Spring Hill. Mr Newman is not associated with the business.

Two entities within the Majella Group were wound up last year - Majella Capital Funds Management (MCFM), which received money from overseas investors and Majella Towers One, which was developing an apartment block in Woolloongabba.

The liquidator's report said Monsour had blamed "vexatious external party freezing orders which stopped the sale and/or refinance of assets" for Majella Towers One's failure.

Monsour is a former Liberal Party candidate, and he put his Enoggera home up for sale last month.

He has not yet filed any documents in the Federal Circuit Court outlining his opposition to the creditor's petition.

In a separate and unrelated case, Mr Monsour was last year charged by police over an alleged $10 million investment fraud of two Chinese investors.

He has indicated he will defend the charges.

The tax case is due in court on September 5 before Registrar Katie Lynch.