A warrant has been issued for the arrest of former Dunedin lawyer Raelene Marie Kelly, with Inland Revenue now seeking her extradition from Australia.
Kelly (55), who was found guilty in absentia last month on 46 charges of tax evasion involving more than $180,000 while in Dunedin, did not turn up for her sentencing in the Dunedin District Court yesterday.
The Law Society is now expected to seek to have her disbarred.
By video link yesterday from Christchurch, Judge Paul Kellar dealt with the matter in minutes, citing a section of the Criminal Procedure Act that forbade him sentencing Kelly in her absence.
Before a gallery of mainly Dunedin lawyers, the judge instead issued a warrant for her arrest.
Inland Revenue prosecutor Dunedin lawyer David Tasker later confirmed Kelly's extradition would be sought through the Australian courts.
The process might take several months.
Judge Kellar said of Kelly's repeat non-appearance: ''We'll get there, eventually.''
In Kelly's absence, last month's trial, originally set down for five days, was over in about three hours.
Judge Kellar said yesterday the amount of money owed was ''not all that substantial'', about $180,000, and she could have paid IRD to settle the matter.
Kelly, who it is understood had not been asked to surrender her passport, is an Australian citizen and is thought to be in Melbourne, but this could not be confirmed yesterday.
An unsupported email, claiming an ''anxiety disorder'', was submitted during last month's trial but Kelly submitted nothing to the district court yesterday and was not represented.
Dunedin lawyer David More, chairman of the standards committee of the Otago branch of the Law Society, said when contacted yesterday the committee ''was aware'' of Kelly's convictions.
When asked if the Law Society would be considering her status as a lawyer, he said ''privacy requirements'' overruled making any public comment at present.
In March, when the charges were laid, Kelly denied evading paying GST or PAYE.
Judge Kellar said then the charges were ''relatively serious'', noting the maximum penalty for each charge was up to five years' jail and/or a fine of up to $50,000, and Kelly was therefore ''required to be present''.
The charges stem from when Kelly was sole director and shareholder of legal services company Kelly Chambers Ltd in Dunedin.
The company was incorporated in November 2010 and placed in liquidation by Inland Revenue in August 2014 over ''outstanding tax obligations''.
Mr Tasker told last month's trial Kelly was ''aiding and abetting'' Kelly Chambers Ltd in applying PAYE deductions ''other than payment'' to the department and did ''knowingly not furnish'' GST returns.
Fifteen charges covered two-monthly intervals from March 2011 to July 2013 when no GST returns were filed, totalling $122,363.
Another 31 charges covered PAYE and KiwiSaver deductions from employees, from June 2011 to December 2013, amounting to $60,993.
Mr Tasker said there had been a change of shareholding in Kelly Chambers Ltd, lodged by Kelly with the Companies Office in September 2013, transferring her holding to a Gregory Chambers, domiciled in Australia, but Mr Chambers could not be found by IRD.
