<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A former AFL umpire has been jailed for contempt after breaching an asset freeze and disobeying court orders to lay out his worth.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Troy Pannell was handed an 11-week maximum prison term for multiple contempt-of-court offences after he flouted a court order to disclose all of his assets and continued to dispose of assets despite being forbidden to do so.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The former umpire had been working in the shipping industry, alongside his 16-year referee career, until he was suspended from his job in June 2024 pending a fraud investigation.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/devils-den-arkansas-hiker-killings-new-image-of-suspect-released/16ce58c6-794e-4332-9c45-a614dd3864d8" target="_blank"><strong><span>New photo released as police work to identify a person of interest in the killing of Arkansas hikers</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Justice Andrew Watson in May found Pannell guilty of four charges of contempt of court brought by his former employer SeaRoad Shipping.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The plaintiff accused him and his company Independent Container Surveyors &amp; Assessors (ICSA) of failing to provide accurate and up-to-date affidavits outlining all of his assets.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Pannell had his assets frozen as part of the SeaRoad Shipping fraud probe, which related to alleged payments he made while working there.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/troy-pannell--exafl-umpire-jailed-for-contempt/f1c51d03-6773-459a-8cb4-e1ff9b76bca4" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He admitted to also breaching the court-ordered freeze that forbade him and ICSA from disposing of any goods that would reduce his worth to less than $8.7 million.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Pannell, who self-represented in the Supreme Court civil trial, pleaded guilty to two remaining contempt of court charges on July 18 relating to a breach of his asset-freeze order.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He sold a filly born from a racehorse he owned and separately gave a friend $10,000 in cash.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-jeffrey-epstein-files-us-president-says-virginia-giuffre-was-stolen-from-mar-a-lago/e92fad6e-bd41-476b-af8b-3780d8ff547d" target="_blank"><strong><span>Trump says Epstein 'stole' young women from Mar-a-Lago spa, including Virginia Giuffre</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Justice Watson on Wednesday said Pannell's failure to comply with the court's orders affected its ability to administer justice.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Here the disobedience was contumacious," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The judge labelled Pannell's failure to provide affidavits to the plaintiff as serious contempts spanning several months that demonstrated a deliberate disregard to the court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"(His) failure to present the affidavits (meant) for six months, the plaintiff doesn't have a complete picture of his assets," Justice Watson said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Pannell will serve his prison sentences for his charges concurrently and has already spent 54 days on remand.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The experienced umpire, who presided over more than 200 AFL games, attracted attention after he awarded 17 free kicks to the Western Bulldogs compared to one for the Adelaide Crows in their 2016 regular season match.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In May 2014, Pannell was left with a concussion and had to be stretchered off the ground after he was accidentally knocked in the head by Sydney defender Nick Malceski.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He retired from professional umpiring in 2019 due to soft-tissue issues.</span></div></div>