The extradition from Australia of former Dunedin lawyer Raelene Kelly still appears to be a possibility, but the agencies involved are neither confirming nor denying where the process is at.
The New Zealand Law Society, Inland Revenue and Interpol's New Zealand bureau had no comment to make on the issue when contacted in recent days.
Several legal sources in Otago believed the extradition bid was gaining traction, the arrest warrant having to be accepted by the Australian courts, and it was now a matter of "watch this space'', one senior lawyer said.
Kelly was struck off by the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers disciplinary tribunal in July 2016, after she was found guilty in absentia in September 2015 of 46 charges of tax evasion involving more than $180,000 while in Dunedin.
She did not turn up for her criminal trial or sentencing in the Dunedin District Court and was absent from a tribunal hearing.
At her mid-October 2015 sentencing, which she did not attend, the judge cited a section of the Criminal Procedure Act forbidding him from sentencing Kelly in her absence.
Instead, the judge issued a warrant for her arrest, with Inland Revenue seeking her extradition from Australia.
It is understood, but has not been confirmed, that the 2015 warrant is still valid, according to sources.
A Law Society spokesman said given Kelly had been struck off, it was not seeking her.
Inland Revenue refused to comment on the issue.
An Interpol officer also would not comment when asked for an update on the extradition process.
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''.
