Dimitrios ‘Jim’ Mavris died alone in his prison cell, bringing an abrupt end to a short and, in its final years, dramatic life of the mechanic turned international drug runner.
In May the 48-year-old was flown back to Australia after having been kidnapped in Columbia.
When he touched down in Sydney he was instantly arrested for importing $20million of cocaine, tucked into frozen fish, and was found dead two days later.
Now, an investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald into his private business dealings has revealed suspicions of alleged money laundering.
Before Dimitrios ‘Jim’ Mavris (pictured) died alone in his prison cell he led a dramatic life
It has been revealed that Mavris (pictured right with his wife, left) is being investigated for alleged money laundering
The paper reported that there is currently an ongoing multi-agency investigation into Mavris’s potentially dodgy dealings.
After selling three cars, a Bentley, a McLaren and a Mercedes-Benz, Mavris told the tax office he couldn’t pay the luxury vehicle tax because he was in a ‘precarious’ finical situation.
However, at the time of his death Mavris was the sole shareholder and director of several family companies and trusts that are controlled by his property portfolio worth millions.
In the weeks after his death, his widow, Despina, along with his son, Anthony, made an urgent legal bid to gain full control over his portfolio.
Before he made his mark on Sydney’s skyline, Mavris had been the owner of two small businesses – a mechanics and a car rental business. Both of them were struggling financially.
He had worked under the bonnet of cars his whole life until around six years ago when he remade himself into a hot shot property developer.
He was an international drug trafficker and had just been kidnapped in Columbia
Mavris’s lifestyle dramatically changed. He went from small business owner to high-flying real estate developer, with all the trimmings and luxury cars in tow.
He was a key figure in the $3.3million redevelopment of a luxury apartment block in Pyrmont, and his company sold off the penthouse apartment for $2million, while another sold for $1million.
The Mavris family owned two properties, including a penthouse with harbour views. Both of them were sold in 2013 and 2014 for $1.5million and $1.3million respectively.
Also adding to the intrigue, Mavris’s name appears in the Panama Papers, the massive leak of millions of internal documents from law firm Mossack Fonseca that shed light on money laundering, fraud and tax evasion of global companies and wealthy individuals.
After his death, his wife and their son launched an urgent action in the Supreme Court to remove one of his companies as a trustee for the family trust because loans on the Pyrmont properties were falling due.
Justice Michael Slattery questioned the pair over whether they had received any applications relating to the charges brought against Mavris before his death.
‘Mrs Despina Mavris indicated that no such notice had been received,’ a judgement read.
According to the Colombian police, they found him in an abandoned house after receiving a tip off
She was granted limited control of the multiple businesses by the court, allowing her to run the ‘ordinary course of business.’
While fighting with the tax office Jim Mavris argued that he was not legally responsible for paying the tax owed on three luxury cars he had sold.
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting knowledge of or any wrongdoing by Mrs Mavris or Anthony Mavris.
Originally he told the court he had no idea why the Bentley was even in his name, but he later changed this story.
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal rejected his argument, saying they believed Mavris was financially stable enough to repay the potentially more than $144,000 owing.
As investigators begin to poke around the thick web of business deals and property sales, police are also still looking into his kidnapping and subsequent rescue.
He spent a week imprisoned in a rural area in Columbia before being shipped to Buenaventura, notorious for drug trafficking and brutal murders.
According to the Colombian police, they found him in an abandoned house after receiving a tip off.
‘We are investigating the interest these people had on him and why they kidnapped him,’ they said last month.
He was photographed smiling and wearing a bullet proof vest after his recuse.
But before he became a drug dealer Marvis started out as a struggling mechanic with a business in Sydney
As soon as he touched back down in Australia he was met by AFP officers who wanted to discuss his alleged role in the importation of 59 kilograms of cocaine from Peru.
Mavris was meant to stand in Sydney’s Central Local Court on May 30 to apply for bail.
Instead, he was found dead in his jail cell two days after his arrest. Police believe he died by suicide.
His abrupt death ended a life mired with drama, drugs and potentially dirty money.
Now federal officers are left to untangle the thick web of finances, luxury car taxes and drug smuggling charges.