A pair of Toronto lawyers accused of embezzling nearly $7 million from real estate clients has been found in contempt of court for failing to hand over financial records and answer questions about where the money went.

Singa Bui and her husband Nicholas Cartel face penalties that could include fines or even imprisonment, and will likely also draw misconduct charges from Ontario's professional regulatory body for lawyers, two experts in professional legal discipline said.

"Although they must know what happened to the funds, they have refused to provide this information," Ontario Superior Court Justice William Chalmers ruled in late August.

"Instead of attempting to comply with the orders to the best of their ability, I find that the defendants have taken active steps to hide their finances and to frustrate the court's efforts to determine what happened."