Hulk Hogan Probed By Tax Authorities

CROCODILE DUNDEE star PAUL HOGAN is being investigated by authorities in his native Australia over alleged tax liabilities.

The American Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been drafted in to help Aussie officials probe the actor - by ordering three American banks to hand over nine years' worth of his personal banking records.

Four companies related to the 68-year-old are also under investigation, court documents in Los Angeles reveal.

According to newspaper The Australian, Hogan is fighting the move, accusing the Australian Taxation Office of being on a "long-distance fishing expedition" to unlawfully obtain "irrelevant" information.

The star is the most high-profile target of a AUS$300 million ($290 million/GBP145 million) operation into tax fraud and evasion. It is thought attention turned to Hogan after details of a number of offshore trusts and companies holding AUS$40 million ($38.8 million/GBP19.4 million) was leaked to the press in 2005.