Sarah Panitzke, originally from York, was a key figure in a multi-million pound VAT fraud and became one of the UK’s most wanted criminals after fleeing her trial in 2013.
The 48-year-old was apprehended while walking her dogs in Spain in February as part of an operation led by the Spanish Guardia Civil, which collaborated with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Sarah Panitzke filed an appeal against extradition proceedings, which was denied, and she was deported to the United Kingdom by HMRC. She appeared in Kingston Crown Court on June 10, 2022, and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Simon York, Director of HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, stated:
“Sarah Panitzke thought she could get away with her crimes because she helped launder millions of pounds in stolen money.” She hid for nine years, but we never gave up looking for her.
“We worked tirelessly alongside Spanish authorities to find her and bring her back to face justice.”
This is a testament to the hard work of our officers who work tirelessly every day to ensure that the most serious frauds do not go unpunished, and we will continue to relentlessly pursue the small minority who believe it is acceptable to steal taxpayers’ money.
We encourage anyone with information about a tax crime to report it online to HMRC.” Search GOV.UK for ‘Report Fraud HMRC’ and fill out our online form.”
Sarah Panitzke was a key figure in a sophisticated multi-million pound fraud, laundering massive amounts of stolen money through offshore bank accounts.
The gang set up a number of businesses that claimed to be legitimately importing and selling mobile phones, but the businesses were a front for an elaborate scheme to steal more than £20 million in VAT repayments.
Despite their efforts to conceal the criminal profits, HMRC investigators discovered a complex web of transactions used to launder stolen money through bank accounts in the UK, Andorra, Dubai, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Portugal, and the United States.
Sarah Panitzke fled to Spain during her trial in 2013, and was convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison in her absence. She and her 17 co-conspirators were sentenced to a total of 135 years in prison for the multi-million pound VAT fraud.
In 2016, while she was still on the run, a court ordered her to repay more than £2.4 million within three months or face an additional nine years in prison.
HMRC believes she has been living under an assumed identity in Andorra and Spain for the past nine years. She was apprehended after the Spanish Guardia Civil identified her in a village in the Tarragona region.
On February 27, 2022, plainclothes officers from the Spanish Guardia Civil approached her in the small town of Santa Barbara, near the Catalan coast.
HMRC officers apprehended her and returned her to the UK on June 9, 2022.
Sarah Panitzke was sentenced to eight years in prison at Kingston Crown Court on June 10, 2022.
