Britain’s most wanted woman is finally jailed: Former private schoolgirl starts eight-year sentence for £1billion VAT fraud after she fled to Spain on the run nine years ago
- Sarah Panitzke, 48, absconded in May 2013 during her money-laundering
- She and her 16 co-conspirators were given sentences totaling 135 years
- She had been hiding out in exile in Spain until her arrest on February 27
- Panitzke was convicted in her absence and was extradited from Spain
One of ‘Britain’s most-wanted tax fugitives’ has appeared in court for her role in a multimillion-pound VAT fraud after she was extradited following nine years on the run.
Sarah Panitzke, 48, originally from York, finally faced justice when she appeared at Kingston Crown Court in south-west London.
Panitzke absconded in May 2013 while standing trial for money laundering offences and subsequently featured in National Crime Agency (NCA) most-wanted appeals.
She was convicted and sentenced in her absence to eight years in prison.
Panitzke and her 16 co-conspirators were given sentences totalling 135 years for a multimillion-pound VAT fraud, HM Revenue and Customs said after he arrest.
Police officers arrested Panitzke while she walked her two dogs in the small town of Santa Barbara near the Catalan coast on February 27.
Sarah Panitzkke, pictured, was today sentenced to eight years in prison following her failure to return to cork
Panitzke was extradited to the UK following her arrest in Spain in February. She today learned she will have to spend at least four years in prison before being released on licence. She was warned this licence over
The operation was led by the Spanish Guardia Civil, working alongside HMRC.
Today, Judge Sarah Plaschkes QC said: ‘Stand up please, as you have heard you were sentenced in your absence by his honour Judge Campbell at this court on the 22nd August 2013 to eight years imprisonment, that sentence will start today now that you have been extradited to this country.
‘That means that you will serve at least half of that sentence in custody before you may be released on licence.
‘When you are released on licence, if you commit any further offence you may serve the rest of your sentence in custody.
‘In the circumstances, there are no further orders that I need to make and nothing further that I need to say.’
Following her arrest in February, Simon York, director of the Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said ‘Sarah Panitzke was one of Britain’s most-wanted tax fugitives.
‘She played a pivotal role in a multimillion-pound VAT fraud and moved millions through offshore bank accounts.
‘Panitzke thought she had put herself outside of the reach of HMRC, but through our work with UK law enforcement and international partners we have tracked down another tax fugitive. No tax criminal is beyond our reach.
‘We have helped secure the return of more than 60 fugitives since 2016, including some of the UK’s most-harmful tax cheats.’
The con artist is believed to have led a life of luxury in a gated community in the hills of Vilanova i la Geltrú, an hour from the centre of Barcelona, before justice finally caught up with her.
The fraudster told Spanish judges she wanted to be sentenced in Spain because of her links to the country.
She also claimed her husband, who lives in Spain, has just 10 years to live and would not be able to visit her in Britain if she was extradited.
She was identified as part of an organised crime group responsible for laundering approximately £1 billion from a mobile phone VAT fraud.
During the scam, she was part of a group of companies that bought cheap mobile phones abroad without VAT before selling them into Britain for a big profits.
Panitzke and her 17 co-conspirators were given jail terms totalling 135 years.
The others had all been caught, convicted and sentenced, but she remained at large for almost a decade having absconded before the trial had concluded.
The NCA’s International Deputy Director Tom Dowdall said after her arrest: ‘Sarah Panitzke has been on the run for almost nine years.
‘Given the length of time she might have thought we had stopped searching, but she remained on our radar.
‘Joint working between UK law enforcement and our partners in Spain led to her being apprehended, and we will now seek her extradition back to the UK to serve her prison sentence.
‘This should serve as a warning to others on our most wanted list – we will not rest until you are captured, no matter how long it takes.’
Panitzke is said to have grown up in a wealthy family in the village of Escrick, near Selby, North Yorks.
She went to York College for Girls before moving on to fee-paying St Peter’s School which is the third oldest in the world.
Her father Leo, a residential property developer and insurance broker, was jailed for four years for buying council houses and selling them on early for a large profit.
Simon York, director of HMRC’s fraud investigation service, said after her arrest: ‘Sarah Panitzke was one of Britain’s most wanted tax fugitives.
‘She played a pivotal role in a multi-million pound VAT fraud and moved millions through offshore bank accounts.
‘Panitzke thought she had put herself outside of the reach of HMRC, but through our work with UK law enforcement and international partners we have tracked down another tax fugitive. No tax criminal is beyond our reach.
‘We have helped secure the return more than 60 fugitives since 2016, including some of the UK’s most harmful tax cheats.’
Lord Ashcroft, founder and chairman of the independent charity Crimestoppers, said after her arrest: ‘It’s hugely encouraging news to hear of Sarah Panitske’s arrest in Spain after being on our Most Wanted list for some years.
‘It shows how our charity, working with the NCA to find the most wanted fugitives, benefits us all. Our communities, here in the UK and abroad, are safer as a result.’
However Sarah Panitzke, 48, will not face any charges for absconding as she wasn’t extradited for skipping bail.
Sentencing her, the judge said her hands were tied and she couldn’t increase Panitzke’s sentence for her being on the run.
She was convicted of conspiracy to acquire criminal property in 2013 and fled to Spain before her trial ended.
She is believed to have lived a life of luxury in the Mediterranean country for nine years before her arrest in February – but she will not be charged for any Bail Act offences.
She was jailed for eight years in her absence in 2013 and she began serving that sentence after it was re-imposed today.
Appearing in the dock of Kingston Crown Court, she only spoke to reply ‘yes’ when asked her name during the hearing, which lasted around 10 minutes.
The gang funnelled money through bank accounts in the UK, Andorra, Dubai, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Portugal and the US, HMRC said.
She and her 17 co-conspirators were given sentences totalling 135 years for the multi-million-pound VAT fraud.
Prosecutor Stephen Apted said: ‘During the course of that trial on 22 May 2013 the defendant was allowed out of the country and had a duty to return to this country on 28 May.
‘She failed to do so and on that date a warrant was issued.
‘The defendant was not extradited in relation to an offence under the Bail Act and our position is that that charge cannot be put to you.’
He added that she has failed to pay £2,455,913.57 which she owes the court and she could be jailed another nine years for non-repayment.
She is expected to face proceedings beginning in the magistrates court in due course but the allegation was not put to her during today’s hearing.
Her lawyer Anna Leathem spoke only to say: ‘There is not much more I can assist with.’
Judge Sarah Plaschkes QC said a Court of Appeal ruling from 2009 meant her hands were tied and the fugitive could not be charged for Bail Act offences.
She told her: ‘As you have heard you were sentenced in your absence on 22 August 2013 to eight years in prison.
‘That sentence will start today.
‘In the circumstances there are no further orders that I need to make.’
In 2016 and whilst still on the run, a court also ordered that she repay more than £2.4 million within three months or serve an extra nine years in jail.
HMRC believe that she had been hiding in Andorra and Spain for the last nine years and living under an assumed identity.
She was captured after the Spanish Guardia Civil identified her in a village in the region of Tarragona.
Simon York, Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said after the hearing: ‘Sarah Panitzke helped launder millions of pounds of stolen money and thought she could run from her crimes.
‘She spent nine years hiding – but we never stopped looking.
‘We worked tirelessly alongside the Spanish authorities to track her down and ensure she was brought back to face justice.
‘This is testament to the dedication of our officers who work hard every day to ensure the most serious frauds don’t go unpunished, and we continue to relentlessly pursue the small minority who think it’s acceptable to steal taxpayers’ money.
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