A jovial Paul Hogan, with a fake mo and his trademark sense of humour intact, has finally left Australia after a two-week stand-off with the taxman.
The Crocodile Dundee star joked with media crews as he arrived at Sydney Airport on Sunday, complete with a fake moustache and introducing himself to photographers as "Mr Smith".
The travel ban placed on the 70-year-old by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) was lifted on Friday afternoon, ending his prolonged stay Down Under following his mother's funeral.
The actor returns home with an alleged multi-million dollar tax debt, which he claims he doesn't owe and can't pay, and the sense of humour that made him a star.
"Oh yeah, but I've been in a prison in paradise, I've probably put on about two kilos," he joked to media camped out at the airport.
"There's a rumour going around that my release was brought on by a very, very senior politician, in fact the most powerful man in Australia put pressure on the tax office to make me leave.
"This is not true. This powerful man and your future leader, I've never met him nor never have I spoken to Bob Katter. Say no more."
The ATO served Hogan with a departure prohibition order in mid-August when he returned to Australia after his mother's death.
But after a "cordial and co-operative meeting" between the ATO and Hogan on Friday, the actor's lawyer Andrew Robinson announced the star had been allowed to return to his home in America.
"While the commissioner and Mr Hogan remain in dispute on more general taxation issues, Mr Hogan continues to protest his innocence and denies any wrongdoing," Mr Robinson said in a statement on Friday.
Hogan lives in Los Angeles with his wife Linda Kozlowski and their son Chance.
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