There has been a further delay in the $8.7 million fraud case involving a former AFL umpire.

Troy Pannell was allegedly on the run for more than two weeks before crashing his car after police attempted to stop him on Friday.

An arrest warrant was issued for the 48-year-old in the Victorian Supreme Court last month after he failed to appear in a civil case involving his former employer, who is pursuing him over the multi-million dollar fraud they allege he benefited from.

Pannell was due to appear in court on Wednesday and then again on Thursday, but the matter has been adjourned to a future date with ex-whistleblower possibly still in hospital.

Pannell, who officiated 291 AFL games from 2005 to 2018 — including a controversial 2016 match where he awarded 17 free kicks to the eventual flag-winning Bulldogs and only one to Adelaide — was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday but is now expected to appear today.

Pannell underwent life-saving surgery over the weekend after crashing his car into a tree on a country road in Victoria while allegedly fleeing from police.

Police located him in Wheatsheaf and attempted to stop him.

He failed to comply and drove off along Daylesford-Malmsbury Road. Police say it was not a pursuit, but Pannell’s van crashed into a tree shortly afterward.

He was airlifted in serious condition to The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne and underwent emergency surgery.

He has since been formally arrested to be brought before the court for the civil case.

His name was called out at the Victorian Supreme Court on Friday, but he was not in attendance. It was the second time he missed a scheduled court appearance, prompting Justice Andrew Watson to issue an arrest warrant.

The court had believed he had left Victoria and was possibly heading to South Australia. Officers were instructed to keep him in custody until the next hearing.

It is alleged that Pannell generated invoices to pay a company named Independent Container Surveyors & Assessors (ICSA) for repairs to damaged shipping containers, with each “repair” costing SeaRoad between $800 and $900.

Pannell allegedly had authority to approve purchase orders up to $5000. Suspicion arose when a finance manager noticed ICSA was not registered for GST. SeaRoad claims ICSA never performed any work and that it trusted Pannell to follow proper procedures.

A letter from SeaRoad to Pannell, tendered in court, stated:

“SeaRoad is satisfied you have committed serious misconduct. You have been the sole shareholder and director of ICSA from 2010 to date. We find your response that you did not know you held these positions to be fanciful.”

SeaRoad is asking the court to order Pannell — who also had financial interests in the racing industry — to repay the $8.7 million.

A forensic search revealed that Pannell sent an email to his wife, Lynise Woodgate, in October 2023 titled “Love U”, in which he wrote: “I’m so sorry for everything … I don’t know where 3 years have gone, we have been so busy … and had I realised everything I am feeling right now, 3 years ago … I would not feel the way I do today.”

When the arrest warrant was issued in May, Crows great Mark Ricciuto said the AFL should investigate the infamous 2016 game in light of the court claims.

“The Bulldogs won the flag that year. If they hadn’t won that game, they probably would’ve finished eighth and not advanced,” Ricciuto said on Triple M. “Adelaide would’ve finished third instead of fifth. We would’ve had a double chance. It might have cost us a flag.”

With 7NEWS