Sarah Panitzke: Private schoolgirl from Yorkshire who became Britain's most wanted woman set to be jailed

A former private schoolgirl who became Britain’s most wanted woman for her part in a £1 billion VAT fraud is to be finally locked up today (Jun 10) nine years after fleeing abroad.

Sarah Panitzke, 48, had been the only woman on the National Crime Agency’s list of most-wanted fugitives after she fled to Spain in May 2013.

She was said to have “disappeared into thin air” when she left Britain during her trial for money laundering offences almost a decade ago.

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Cops even asked British holidaymakers to help catch the fraudster from Fulford, near York, in an appeal for information on wanted killers, sex attackers and drug traffickers.

Sarah Panitzke, 48, had been the only woman on the National Crime Agency’s list of most-wanted fugitives after she fled to Spain in May 2013.Sarah Panitzke, 48, had been the only woman on the National Crime Agency’s list of most-wanted fugitives after she fled to Spain in May 2013.
Sarah Panitzke, 48, had been the only woman on the National Crime Agency’s list of most-wanted fugitives after she fled to Spain in May 2013.

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.

She was arrested by Spain's Guardia Civil in on 27 February while walking her dogs in Santa Barbara, Tarragona, south of Barcelona.

The fraudster told Spanish judges she wanted to be sentenced in Spain because of her links to the country.

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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.

A mugshot of Sarah Panitzke,A mugshot of Sarah Panitzke,
A mugshot of Sarah Panitzke,
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She is expected to be sentenced this afternoon at Kingston Crown Court now she has been flown back to Britain. Panitzke was convicted and sentenced in her absence to eight years following an investigation by HMRC.

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.

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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.

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“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.

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.

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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.

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“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."