She is due back in court in late February.
She has denied 32 counts of tax evasion, 16 counts of knowingly filing false tax and GST returns and eight charges of knowingly not providing GST returns to the Inland Revenue department.
The Crown alleges that between November 6, 2002 and August 29, 2008 she knowingly provided false income tax and GST returns intended to evade the assessment and/or payment of tax by herself or some other person.
Some in the alleged false returns were filed in the name of Onepu Geothermal Energy Limited.
Adlam is a former managing director and shareholder of this company which was registered with the NZ Companies Office from March 29, 1995 to June 13, 2007, but the company has subsequently being struck off the companies register.
The Crown further alleges that Adlam also knowingly did not provide GST returns for the period March 31, 2007 to November 30, 2007.
At the time Adlam received her royal honour she had a extensive portfolio of business and Maori enterprises spanning four decades, that included helping to negotiate a claim in New Zealand's largest geothermal development in more than 20 years.
She has also held a range of leadership roles in government and community organisations.
Adlam hailed as a high flyer in the business world once held a top position in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade as the former director of the Kaupapa Maori division of the Ministry.
As chairwoman of Tuwharetoa Kawerau Trust she helped to negotiate the purchase of the Kawerau geothermal assets for local iwi.
She is listed as one of the four directors of Ngati Tuwharetoa Geothermal Assets Limited which will provide steam and geothermal fluids needed to operate the new 25mW Kawerau geothermal power plant.
She is also listed as a director and shareholder of Ngati Tuwharetoa Custodian Trustee Company Limited.
Adlam has also been a member of the Qualifications Authority, is a former Bay of Plenty Area Health Board member, and a trustee of the New Zealand Telethon Trust.
Some of her other achievements include Adlam holding roles with the Lottery Bay of Plenty, Gisborne Community Development Committee, Bay of Plenty Electricity, Trustbank Bay of Plenty, and NZ Forestry Corporation.
According to the National Business Review in 1986 Adlam won the Sperry Information Systems and More Magazine's Businesswoman of the Year Award as director of Kawerau Enterprise Agency.
She is also a former Waiariki Young Woman of the Year and in 2003 received the NZ Mobile Broadcasting Award for the Best Spoken Radio Programme and followed that up a year later with a Best Factual Programme award in the same competition.
