UK’s Most Wanted Tax Fugitive Gets Sentence Slammed to 17 Years for Dodging £2.4M Payback
Fugitive Sarah Panitzke Caught After 9 Years on Run
Sarah Panitzke, once one of the UK’s most wanted tax fugitives, has had her prison time more than doubled. The 48-year-old, originally from York, was jailed for eight years last year after being caught for masterminding a massive multi-million-pound VAT fraud.
Panitzke went on the run during her 2013 trial, evading authorities for nine years before being caught by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in Spain in February 2022. She was returned to the UK in June 2022 and locked up a month later.
Dodges £2.4 Million Repayment, Faces Extra 9 Years
Today, 24 March 2023, Panitzke was hit with another nine-year sentence for failing to pay back a staggering £2.4 million confiscation order linked to her crimes. This means she now faces a total of 17 years inside – and still owes the cash, plus mounting interest.
The debt is escalating by £538 a day and stood at nearly £3.8 million in February 2023.
HMRC Cracks Down on Tax Crime
“Our work doesn’t stop at conviction – we always look to recover the proceeds of crime,” said Nicol Sheppard, Assistant Director of HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service.
“Panitzke was part of a gang that stole millions from taxpayers, hitting public services hard. She refused to repay what she stole and now faces even more jail time.”
She urged the public: “If you have info about tax crime, report it online at GOV.UK by searching ‘Report Fraud HMRC.’”
Behind the Billion-Pound Scam
Panitzke was at the heart of an elaborate scam raking in over £20 million in VAT refunds. The gang ran fake businesses, claiming to import and sell mobile phones, but really used them to cheat the tax system.
HMRC uncovered a tangled web of money laundering, with funds moved through banks across the UK, Andorra, Dubai, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Portugal, and the US.
Despite fleeing to Spain mid-trial, Panitzke was convicted in her absence along with 17 others, who collectively got 135 years behind bars for the fraud.
Hiding in Plain Sight
HMRC believes Panitzke lived under an alias in Andorra and Spain for nearly a decade. The Spanish Guardia Civil eventually located her in a village near Tarragona thanks to a joint operation with HMRC.
Arrested while walking her dogs, she was swiftly sent back to face justice in the UK.
