Most wanted ‘MI6 conman’ held as he leaps from balcony at Swiss hideaway
BRITAIN’S most wanted confidence trickster has been arrested trying to flee his luxury Swiss apartment after more than four years on the run.
Mark Acklom, 45, leapt from a first-floor balcony when police descended on the rented £1million apartment where he was living as a ‘continental executive’ with his family.
However, an officer was waiting below and the well- spoken conman was detained.
Acklom is wanted for fleecing a woman out of her £850,000 life savings after posing as a wealthy banker and MI6 agent.
He is suspected of cheating dozens more by claiming to be a property developer, City broker, lawyer and even a gynaecologist.
The arrest brings to an end a Europe-wide manhunt for the privately-educated swindler.
Acklom, known for his love of fast cars, first class travel and expensive hotels, used dozens of false identities to stay one step ahead of the authorities.
But the net began to close after he was photographed at a Geneva cafe last summer by one of his alleged victims, who spotted him by chance. When police examined the images they realised he was drinking coffee with a Spanish fraudster, who is also on the run.
Acklom was arrested after an operation involving the National Crime Agency, Avon and Somerset Police and the Swiss authorities.
On Saturday, officers from the Swiss Federal Police raided his apartment in Wadenswil, 20 minutes from Zurich. His arrest followed days of surveillance by officers who watched multi-lingual
‘They seemed like an ordinary family’
Acklom as he posed as a Spanish business executive.
He was living with his Spanish wife Maria Yolanda Ros Rodriguez, 47, and their two daughters, aged six and eight, in a stunning firstfloor luxury apartment that looks out on Lake Zurich.
The businessman was using a Spanish false name and his wife was known as Maria Longi. One neighbour said his wife cancelled her yoga classes on Monday, saying she had been made to change her name and faced an uncertain financial future. ‘She was very quiet,’ a friend said. ‘Her daughters were very sweet. They seemed like an ordinary family.
‘Maria said her husband managed an IT project making black box recorders for cars but I thought it was strange when I could not find anything about it online.’
Neighbours said they believed the fugitive was running several digital start-up companies.
The investigation into Acklom began when boutique worker Carolyn Woods told police he had conned her into lending him her life savings to invest in property. They began a relationship in 2012 with Acklom first posing as a wealthy banker and then a secret agent who feared being murdered.
But she raised the alarm after he disappeared, leaving her broke and suicidal as she realised he was married to another woman. Last night, Mrs Woods, 60, of Bath, said: ‘Obviously, I’m delighted he’s been arrested. I’m hoping he will be brought to trial in the UK.’
Swiss legal sources said Acklom is refusing to co-operate with the authorities and has indicated he will fight extradition. He faces at least 20 charges of fraud and other offences in the UK.