Sarah Panitzke
Sarah Panitzke | |
|---|---|
| Born | Sarah Gina Panitzke 3 March 1974 (age 52)[1] |
| Education | St Peter's School, York |
| Occupation | Fraudster |
| Criminal status | Imprisoned until at least 2027 |
| Parents |
|
| Criminal charge | Fraud, failure to pay a confiscation order |
| Penalty | Eight years' imprisonment (for fraud) Nine years' imprisonment (for failure to pay confiscation order) |
Sarah Gina Panitzke (born 3 March 1974) is a British criminal and fraudster who, until 2022, was widely described as "the UK's most wanted woman".[4][5]
Flight and imprisonment
A former private school girl at St Peter's School, York, and from an already-wealthy family, she fled Britain in 2013 while on trial for a £1-billion tax scam, and was for several years the only woman on the National Crime Agency's list of most-wanted fugitives.[4][5][6][7] She was found guilty of the tax scam and sentenced to eight years' imprisonment in her absence.[4][5]
In January 2022, she was tracked to a gated community in Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona, Spain, where it was said she had been living a "life of luxury" under a false identity.[2][4][7] She was arrested on 27 February 2022 while walking her dog in Santa Bàrbara, Tarragona, footage of which was later released.[4] After being extradited back to Britain, she began her eight-year sentence and was told she would not be able to apply for parole for four years (half her sentence), and faced nine years of imprisonment for not paying back a £2.4 million confiscation order made in 2016.[4] In March 2023, she was further found guilty of this and sentenced to an additional nine years' imprisonment, meaning she would not become eligible for parole until late 2027.[7] Legally, she was not able to be punished for fleeing the country while on trial, and as of 2023, none of the money has been returned.[6][7]
See also
References
- ^ "Sarah PANITZKE". GOV.UK - Find and update company information. Archived from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ a b Hammond, Grace (10 June 2022). "Sarah Panitzke: Private schoolgirl from Yorkshire who became Britain's most wanted woman set to be jailed". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ Johnston, Neil (5 March 2022). "Sarah Panitze: Justice catches up with British crime queen 'Maria Antonietta'". The Times. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "Sarah Panitzke: UK's most wanted woman jailed over fraud". BBC News. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ a b c Taylor, Harry (10 June 2022). "Sarah Panitzke: UK's 'most wanted woman' jailed over VAT fraud". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ a b Hunter, Debra (25 March 2023). "'Most wanted' conwoman jailed after going on run to Spain for a decade". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d Kanengoni, Jonathan (27 March 2023). "One of UK's most wanted tax fugitives has sentence doubled after failing to pay back stolen millions". The Independent. Retrieved 2 May 2023.