Palmer's lawyer 'flees' after $34 million fraud claim

Clive Palmer's former solicitor has allegedly fled Australia after being accused of stealing $34 million from the billionaire mining magnate.

Sam Iskander is now subject to a police arrest warrant, with Federal Court documents revealing this week he was in Egypt as of March.

Mr Iskander allegedly engaged in "sophisticated altering of the invoices" he charged to Mr Palmer's company Mineralogy and took funds from a solicitor's trust account, a Queensland Supreme Court civil trial previously heard.

He allegedly used the money to buy a large real estate portfolio and gold bullion.

Mr Palmer said in August 2025 he discovered the alleged fraud and claimed Mr Iskander had been diverting funds between 2016 and July 2025.

The now non-practising solicitor fled overseas some time before February 2026 and was in Egypt as of March, Federal Court documents claim.

The claims were revealed on Thursday in a judgment finding Mr Palmer's nephew Clive Mensink guilty of contempt of court after he fled overseas instead of answering questions over a Queensland nickel refinery firm's collapse.

Mensink was previously represented in the Federal Court matter by Mr Iskander and earlier this year sought to convince Justice Darryl Rangiah that his former counsel's evidence was not reliable.

"A letter from Mr Mensink's current solicitor to the registrar's solicitors dated 13 March 2026 asserts that Mr Iskander is currently in Egypt," Justice Rangiah said on Thursday.

"At a hearing in January 2026, Mr Iskander stated that he did not have the financial or mental capacity to return to Australia."

Queensland Police has sought a warrant relating to fraud allegedly committed between August 2016 and July 2025.

"In April 2026, the Queensland Police Service sought an arrest warrant for a 55-year-old man for alleged fraud activity," a police spokesperson told AAP.

Mr Palmer was reviewing Justice Rangiah's judgment, a Mineralogy spokesperson told AAP.

Mr Iskander had allegedly misappropriated a total of $34.272 million, Mineralogy's barrister Brian O'Donnell KC told Queensland Supreme Court in September.