The lefties will love this!!!

Sarah Panitzke, originally from York, played a leading role in a multimillion pound VAT fraud and became one of the UK’s most wanted criminals after absconding during her trial in 2013.

In February, the 48-year-old was arrested while walking her dogs in Spain in an operation led by the Spanish Guardia Civil, working alongside HMRC.

Panitzke launched an appeal against extradition proceedings, which failed, and she was returned to the UK by HMRC. On 10 June 2022, she appeared at Kingston Crown Court and was jailed for eight years.

She played a pivotal role in a sophisticated fraud and laundered stolen money through offshore bank accounts. The gang set up numerous businesses claiming to be legitimately importing and selling mobile phones, but the businesses were a front for an elaborate scheme to steal more than £20m in VAT repayments.

Despite going to great lengths to hide the criminal profits, HMRC investigators uncovered a complex web of transactions they used to launder stolen money through bank accounts in the UK, Andorra, Dubai, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Portugal and the US.

Panitzke fled to Spain during her trial in 2013 and was convicted and sentenced in her absence to eight years in prison. She and her 17 co-conspirators were given sentences totalling 135 years for the VAT fraud.

In 2016 and while still on the run, a court also ordered that she repay more than £2.4m within three months or serve an extra nine years in jail. No money has ever been paid towards the confiscation order.

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: ‘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.’

Jessica Walker of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said: ‘Sarah Panitzke, who fled the country during a multimillion pound VAT fraud trial, is finally behind bars thanks to the committed work of our extradition team and HMRC. We will be working with partners to recover the funds she took from the public purse.’

National Crime Agency (NCA) international deputy director Tom Dowdall said: ‘Sarah Panitzke was on the NCA most wanted list for nearly a decade. Her jailing is the culmination of years of hard work by the NCA and partners at home and abroad to trace and return her to the UK.

‘It does not matter how long fugitives run, we have the capabilities, tenacity and excellent relationships with international law enforcement to find them.’

Plain clothes officers from the Spanish Guardia Civil approached her on 27 February 2022, in the small town of Santa Barbara, near the Catalan coast.

She was arrested and subsequently returned to the UK by HMRC officers on 9 June 2022.

Panitzke appeared at Kingston Crown Court on 10 June 2022 and was sentenced to eight years in jail.