A former AFL umpire is facing the prospect of arrest after failing to appear in the Victorian Supreme Court over claims he defrauded his employer out of $8.7 million across nearly a decade.
Troy Pannell, who officiated 219 AFL matches between 2005 and 2018 and once sparked outrage over lopsided free kick calls, is accused of setting up a sham container repair business to siphon millions from SeaRoad Shipping, where he worked as a senior manager.
Court documents allege that between 2015 and 2024, SeaRoad unknowingly paid a fake company, Independent Container Surveyors & Assessors (ICSA), for work that was never done.
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Fake repairs, real money
The alleged scheme began to unravel when a routine compliance review flagged that ICSA wasn’t registered for GST. A deeper investigation revealed that Pannell was the sole director and shareholder of ICSA.
He had also issued purchase orders for the company’s services, typically around $800 to $900 per damaged container.
“I never independently checked ICSA or its services and relied on Mr Pannell to have followed the required process,” a SeaRoad CFO affidavit reads. “It was Mr Pannell’s responsibility to satisfy himself that ICSA had completed the work.”
SeaRoad has since admitted it has found “no evidence of services being provided” and is treating the payments, totalling over $8.5 million, as potentially fraudulent.
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In a letter to Pannell, the company stated: “We find your response that you did not know you held these positions to be fanciful.”
There are now fears Pannell may flee the country, with lawyers asking for his name to be added to an Australian Federal Police watchlist. “Instead of going interstate, Mr Pannell is in Bogota or similar,” said SeaRoad’s counsel, Jonathan B Davis KC.
The case has been adjourned until 6 June.