UPDATE (Nov. 22, 2010): Authorities abandoned a five-year criminal investigation into Hogan's tax dealings for reasons including "insufficient prospects of securing convictions." The Australian Taxation Office is still on his case, however.
UPDATE (Sept. 3, 2010): Paul Hogan granted permission to return to his home in the U.S. after cutting a deal with Australian tax officials. Details of the settlement were not disclosed, but the actor continues to maintain his innocence.
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It's not a g'day for Paul Hogan.
The Crocodile Dundee star has been barred from leaving Australia until he pays up more than $37 million in back taxes.
The 70-year-old thesp and one of Australia's most famous pitchman ("I'll slip another shrimp on the barbie") has been barred from traveling oversees until the matter of his debts are cleared up, an order authorized by the Australian Tax.
Team Hogan says the whole thing is a misunderstanding.
"Paul continues to vehemently deny any wrongdoing. The process of detaining [him]…away from his wife and child in Los Angeles has devastated Paul,'' his lawyers said in a statement.
His legal team suggests that the move is to gain leverage in settlement talks.
Government prosecutors have been investigating Hogan for years as part of an effort to crack down on off-shore tax havens.
Hogan, who's never been charged with any crime, married his Crocodile Dundee sweetheart Linda Kozlowski in 1990 and the couple primarily reside in L.A.
The actor had returned Down Under for his mother's funeral.
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This gorgeous celeb is in hot water with the IRS for allegedly failing to pay her fair share. Who is she? Find out here!