Former AFL umpire Troy Pannell has blamed a kangaroo for his failure to appear at a court hearing into accusations he stole $8.7million from his former employer.

The ex-match official allegedly defrauded the Melbourne-based SeaRoad Shipping business by setting up a fake company that falsely claimed it was carrying out work.

New text messages and emails suggest Pannell may be in northern Victoria or Queensland – while others have claimed he may have fled to New Zealand after an arrest warrant was issued for him. 

On May 9, Pannell reportedly told solicitors for SeaRoad Shipping on that he wouldn’t be at court because he’d hit a kangaroo with his car.

He sent the email 35 minutes after he was supposed to arrive for the hearing. 

‘Mr Pannell sent an email to the solicitor for the plaintiff, stating that his car had been swiped by a large kangaroo on his way to court, that he had no working indicator left and that his windscreen had a crack through it,’ court documents state.

Former AFL umpire Troy Pannell (pictured) failed to appear at a Victorian Supreme Court hearing into accusations he masterminded an $8.7million fraud

Pannell says he was in an accident with a kangaroo on the way to the court hearing 

‘He said he was waiting for roadside assistance and that this was his reason for non‑attendance.’

Last Tuesday, Jonathan B. Davis KC, acting for SeaRoad, told the Victorian Supreme court he believed Pannell was in South Australia but could flee the country, and asked for him to be added to the Federal Police watchlist.

Davis said doing so would ‘save us from coming back and saying that we’ve missed an opportunity and instead of going interstate Mr Pannell is in Bogota or similar’, News Corp reported, adding that an arrest warrant is set to be issued.

Court documents contain claims that Pannell created the Independent Container Surveyors & Assessors company, which invoiced SeaRoad for $8.7million between 2015 and 2024.

The invoices were allegedly lodged for repair work to containers that was never carried out.

The documents claim that the alleged fraud was discovered when a finance manager at SeaRoad conducted a compliance review and found the firm was not registered for GST.

SeaRoad sent Pannell a letter last October accusing him of ‘serious misconduct’, with the correspondence tendered in a civil court case.

Pannell officiated 219 AFL matches from 2005 to 2018.

The veteran of 219 first-grade matches is expected to be the subject of an arrest warrant

He made headlines in May 2016 when he paid 17 free kicks to the Western Bulldogs and just one to their opponents, the Adelaide Crows.

Then-umpires boss Hayden Kennedy said the lopsided count resulted in ‘hysteria’ among fans and footy experts.

‘I tend to laugh about it a little bit. It makes it a little bit easier,’ Pannell said of the furore at the time.

He got into umpiring through the Footscray and District League after playing footy for Hoppers Crossing.

Pannell was also president of the AFL Umpires’ Association for several years.