A photograph of back-from-the-dead canoeist John Darwin and his wife Anne in Panama shows "two criminals" happy at fleeing the UK, a court has heard.
Prosecutor Andrew Robertson QC said the image demonstrated the case against Anne Darwin, as it showed a £250,000 fraud had been a "joint effort".
But David Waters QC, defending, said she had been unable to resist her husband's wishes after a long marriage.
The 56-year-old denies deception and money laundering charges.
Mr Darwin, who vanished from the sea close to his Hartlepool home in March 2002, only to reappear last Christmas, has admitted deception and will be sentenced later.
The prosecutor, summing up the case on Monday, said the now infamous photograph of the Darwins in Panama four years after he disappeared showed they had been equal conspirators.
"It was not just an equal and loving partnership, it was an equal and criminal partnership"
He said: "It shows the two criminals in this case happy together in the land where they felt they were going to find some security away from the UK, each playing their own role, both equally guilty.
"They were in it together, this was a joint effort."
Mrs Darwin admits the frauds took place but claims her husband made her act against her will and was present each time an offence was committed.
Mr Robertson said he accepted the original idea for the scam was Mr Darwin's but added that the defendant had failed to show the jury that she was overpowered by his will.
He said: "It could be said he is responsible for getting her into the mess.
"She quite clearly went along with it when she did not have to and, as such, she is equally responsible for the charges."
Mr Robertson said Mrs Darwin had displayed "flamboyance" in attempting to maintain the deception.
The prosecutor reminded the court how she had thrown flowers on to the sea on the anniversary of her husband's faked disappearance and had told a police press officer she could not grieve without a body.
He said: "It was not just an equal and loving partnership, it was an equal and criminal partnership."
David Waters QC, defending, portrayed Mr Darwin as a bully, who exerted control over his wife despite not resorting to violence or shouting.
He said Mrs Darwin had become incapable of defying her husband's will during their 30-year marriage.
He said: "Anne Darwin couldn't get out of the relationship. It is not that easy when you are married.
"What happens is that you lose the ability to resist."
He said Mrs Darwin felt shameful for lying to her two sons, Anthony and Mark Darwin, in an attempt to cover up her husband's plot.
The trial continues.
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