Wanted: Woman in £1 billion tax fraud
York woman went on the run in 2013
A woman at the centre of a £1 billion tax fraud was named as one of the ten most wanted British criminals thought to be hiding in Spain.
Convicted fraudster Sarah Panitzke, 42, laundered the money as part of a tax scam and is due to serve an eight-year jail term for conspiracy to acquire criminal property.
A YORK woman at the centre of a £1 billion tax fraud was named yesterday as one of the ten most wanted British criminals thought to be hiding in Spain.
Convicted fraudster Sarah Panitzke, 42, laundered the money as part of a huge tax scam and is due to serve an eight-year jail term for conspiracy to acquire criminal property.
Panitzke, 42, from Fulford, York went on the run in May 2013 before the end of her trial, and was jailed in her absence.
She was a senior member of a criminal group involved in a huge VAT fraud, and controlled the accounts of many companies remotely via different computer addresses.
Panitzke travelled the world to further the fraud, and visited Dubai, Spain and Andorra, police said. Eighteen of her associates were jailed for a total of 135 years.
Panitzke is described as 170cm tall, slim build with mousey straight hair, blue eyes and has a Yorkshire accent.
The “most wanted” list also includes a suspect in the murder of Stephen Lawrence, who faces drug dealing charges.
Jamie Acourt, 40, from southeast London, was allegedly part of a cannabis-dealing gang between January 2014 and February 2016.
He previously achieved notoriety after he was named as one of the suspects in the investigation into the racist murder of 18-yearold Stephen. The teenager was killed by up to six attackers in 1993, two of whom, David Norris and Gary Dobson, were convicted and are serving life sentences.
Another suspect on the list is Shane O’Brien, 28, accused of murdering 21-year-old Josh Hanson in an unprovoked knife attack in a bar in Hillingdon, west London in October 2015.
Police believe he has “strong links” to Spain, and uses a false identity to evade capture. A second line of investigation is that he may be in Dubai.
Steve Reynolds, head of international operations for the National Crime Agency, said: “The fugitives we are hunting are wanted for serious crimes and must be returned to the UK to face justice.
“We need the support of the public to help us catch them. Be our eyes and ears and tell us if you have any information on the whereabouts of our targets.”
The list was unveiled by British and Spanish authorities at a joint press conference in Malaga yesterday.
It also features Jonathan Kelly, 36, from Glasgow, who is wanted for a string of violent crimes including a machete attack that left his victim paralysed; and alleged drugs kingpin Dominic McInally, 25, from Liverpool, who is accused of leading a cocaine-dealing gang that made £1.25 million per month.
Another person on the list, suspected fraudster Mark Acklom, 43, from London, allegedly posed as a Swiss banker and an MI6 agent as he fleeced a woman whom he said he would marry out of £850,000.
He is wanted by Avon and Somerset Police for fraud by false representation after starting the relationship with a woman from Bath in January 2012.
He allegedly deceived her into lending him more and more money, apparently for renovation work on a property that she later discovered he did not own.
The chairman of Crimestoppers, Lord Ashcroft, said: “These people have managed to evade arrest and avoid justice. We know that with the help of Spanish authorities, along with the public in Spain and the UK, we can find these people.”
We need the support of the public to help us catch them. Steve Reynolds, Head of International Operations for the National Crime Agency,