The widow of the “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin is at the centre of a legal row over millions of dollars allegedly owed to creditors by her late husband’s zoo.

Terri Irwin lost a preliminary battle yesterday in a legal action seeking A$2.5 million (£1.2 million) from Australia Zoo, related to an alleged tax minimisation scheme.

The legal setback comes days after Bob Irwin, the zoo’s founder and Steve’s father, resigned amid claims that he had been banned from the park after a disagreement with Mrs Irwin over the park’s increasing focus on commercialisation and the career of Bindi, his grand-daughter. A debt collector is suing the zoo and Mrs Irwin separately for A$60,000 in a case that involves an offshore bank with ties to a corrupt former Australian tax official.

Alyssa Treasury Services, which took over debts allegedly owed to various overseas companies and banks, says that Mrs Irwin and Australia Zoo failed to honour promises to pay money to other parties under business restructuring arrangements.

A court in the southern state of Victoria denied an application yesterday from Mrs Irwin and Australia Zoo to have the case moved to Queensland, where the park and many of the likely witnesses are based. The debt collector is pursuing 99 defendants around Australia in the case.

When the legal action emerged late last year, Mrs Irwin denied being “knowingly involved” in any illegitimate activity and said that she would defend herself against the allegations. John Stainton, the zoo’s manager, said at the time that he “had no bloody idea” what the lawsuits were about.

Days later it was reported that Mrs Irwin had sought unsecured loans for working capital from HQZ Argentum, a Singapore-based investment bank, in applications dated June 24 and 26, 2006 — three months before Steve Irwin died from a stingray barb while filming a documentary.

The investment bank has ties to Nick Petroulias, a former Australian tax official convicted in December of bribery and corruption charges. In his resignation letter, which Australia Zoo refused to release, Bob Irwin said that he had quit “to keep his son’s dream alive”. Mr Irwin, 68, thanked zoo staff and “all Steve’s friends out there”, but made no reference to Mrs Irwin or her contribution to his late son’s conservation empire.

The zoo issued a statement saying: “Bob is a gentleman of retirement age and we fully support and love him dearly. He has been through so much grief with the loss of his first wife Lyn and only son. These rumours need to end in respect to the Irwin family.”

Mr Stainton refused to comment initially, saying: “One minute they’re saying it’s me having an affair with Terri . . . and the next it’s Wes having an affair with Terri. They just make it up.”

Earlier this week the zoo’s management broke its silence on the alleged rift, saying that Mr Irwin had not been banned from the zoo and simply decided to “go his different way”.

Steve Irwin built a multimilliondollar business based on his media image as an animal lover and conservationist. A regular on Australian rich lists, he often played down his wealth and once said that Mrs Irwin was the financial brains of the partnership.

“My wife is an American, she’s a good capitalist, she’s very clever with money,” he said. “Me, I don’t give a rip.” The full trial is expected to start in October.

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