The 48-year-old, originally from York, escaped in May 2013 while on trial for money laundering offenses and was later included in the list of most wanted suspects of the National Crime Service (NCA). She was convicted and sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison. Panitzke and her 17 associates were sentenced to a total of 135 years in prison for multi-million pound VAT fraud, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said after her arrest. READ MORE: Lucy Letby: Nurse Accused of Murder of Babies Has Not Been Convicted for One Charge After almost a decade on the run, the police finally caught her in Spain. She was arrested while walking her two dogs in the small town of Santa Barbara off the Catalan coast on February 27. Panitzke had appealed against the extradition process, but failed and returned to the UK earlier this week. At a hearing in Kingston Crown Court today (Friday), Judge Sarah Plaschkes QC told her: “You were sentenced in absentia by Judge Campbell’s honor in this court on 22 August 2013 to eight years in prison, this sentence will begin today. that you have been issued in this country. “This means that you will serve at least half of this detention sentence before you are released on bail. “If you are released on bail, if you commit any other offense, you can serve the remainder of your sentence.” Sara Panitzke appeared on the NCA most wanted list Simon York, director of the Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “Sarah Panitzke helped launder millions of pounds of stolen money and thought she could escape her crimes. She spent nine years in hiding – but we never stopped looking for her. “We have worked tirelessly with the Spanish authorities to locate her and ensure her return to justice.” On 22 March 2016 a confiscation order of £ 2,455,913 was issued against Panitzke in her absence and she was given three months to pay the full amount otherwise she would face an additional nine years in prison. No money has ever been paid for the seizure decision, the HMRC said. The total outstanding amount, including interest, continues to accrue at an interest rate of £ 538 per day and had reached £ 3,470,575 by May 2022, the HMRC added. READ NEXT:
