Owing money isn't a crime. The items on HP which were formerly transferred to your wife's name are now her problem, not yours. If you are still jointly liable for the loan then you should contact your solicitor again and get this sorted out.(posted 8347 days ago)Lenders (credit cards, loans and mortgages) can pursue a person abroad for a debt. Whether or not they do is another matter. For one thing, they have to find you. There is also the cost of pursuing the debt abroad, which may be prohibitive is the debt isn't that big.
You say that you've every intention of paying back what you owe. However as far your creditors will be concerned, you've disappeared and you owe them money. They may well have already issued proceedings to your last known address and there may now be county court judgements against you in the UK - who knows.
If you really want to contact your creditors and make arrangements with them, then you can. But they are likely to want settlement or some arrangement strongly in their favour straight away.