Sarah Panitzke
{{Short description|British criminal and fraudster (born 1974)}}
{{Infobox criminal
|name=Sarah Panitzke
|birth_date= {{Birth-date and age|3 March 1974}}{{cite web |title=Sarah PANITZKE |url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/disqualified-officers/natural/kfTT__jsohT34E3SLX2diyKU8dA |website=GOV.UK - Find and update company information |access-date=7 May 2023}}{{DL|date=April 2025}}
|alias='UK's most wanted woman'
|charge=Fraud, failure to pay a confiscation order
|conviction_penalty= Eight years' imprisonment (for fraud)
Nine years' imprisonment (for failure to pay confiscation order)
|conviction_status= Imprisoned until at least 2027
|occupation= Fraudster
|education=St Peter's School, York
|parents=Leo Panitzke (father), Paula Panitzke (mother){{cite news |title=Sarah Panitzke: Private schoolgirl from Yorkshire who became Britain's most wanted woman set to be jailed |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/crime/sarah-panitzke-private-schoolgirl-from-yorkshire-who-became-britains-most-wanted-woman-set-to-be-jailed-3727488 |access-date=7 May 2023 |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=10 June 2022}}{{cite news |title=Sarah Panitze: Justice catches up with British crime queen ‘Maria Antonietta’ |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/sarah-panitze-justice-catches-up-with-british-crime-queen-maria-antonietta-8wcgskgd7 |access-date=7 May 2023 |work=The Times |date=5 March 2022}}
|children=
}}
Sarah Panitzke (born 3 March 1974) is a British criminal and fraudster who, until 2022, was widely described as "the UK's most wanted woman".{{cite news |title=Sarah Panitzke: UK's most wanted woman jailed over fraud |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-61762799 |access-date=2 May 2023 |work=BBC News |date=10 June 2022}}{{cite news |title=Sarah Panitzke: UK’s ‘most wanted woman’ jailed over VAT fraud |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/10/sarah-panitzke-uks-most-wanted-woman-jailed-over-vat |access-date=2 May 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=10 June 2022}}
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.{{cite news |title='Most wanted' conwoman jailed after going on run to Spain for a decade |url=https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/most-wanted-conwoman-jailed-after-8289107 |access-date=2 May 2023 |work=HullLive |date=25 March 2023}} She was found guilty of the tax scam and sentenced to eight years' imprisonment in her absence, and was described as one of Britain's most-wanted tax fugitives. In January 2022, she was tracked down to Santa Barbara in Tarragona, Spain, where it was said she had been living a "life of luxury" under a false identity.{{cite news |last1=Kanengoni |first1=Jonathan |title=One of UK’s most wanted tax fugitives has sentence doubled after failing to pay back stolen millions |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/sarah-panitzke-wanted-tax-hmrc-b2308279.html |access-date=2 May 2023 |work=The Independent |date=27 March 2023}} She was arrested while walking her dog, footage of which was later released. 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 a further nine years of imprisonment for not paying back a £2.4 million confiscation order made in 2016. In March 2023, she was further found guilty of this and sentenced to an additional nine years' imprisonment, meaning she will not be eligible for parole until late 2027. 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.
See also
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Panitzke, Sarah}}
Category:21st-century English criminals
Category:People educated at St Peter's School, York
Category:English female criminals