New details are being released a year after a romance fraudster who targeted a woman in Bath was named as one of the Most Wanted fugitives from the UK believed to be in Spain.
Mark George Acklom, 44, who’s the subject of a European Arrest Warrant, was named as part of Operation Captura, an appeal launched and run by the National Crime Agency and Crimestoppers.
He’s wanted by police for defrauding a woman he was in a relationship with out of £850,000. The offences, which happened in Bath, were reported in 2013.
Since the Operation Captura appeal, a photograph was taken by a member of the public of Acklom in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday 10th May. He’s not been sighted since.
Today, Avon and Somerset Police are issuing details of Acklom’s wife for the first time, as they believe she may be assisting him. She isn’t the subject of a European Arrest Warrant.
Maria Yolanda Ros Rodriguez, 47, is likely to be with Acklom and may be using the aliases Yolianda Ross, Maria Long, Mary Moss or another name entirely.
DI Adam Bunting, who is leading the efforts to find Acklom, said: “Mark Acklom is a convincing fraudster and we’re working hard to locate him as soon as possible.
“We believe he’ll be with his wife Maria Rodriguez and their two young daughters, who we know up until last year’s appeal, were enrolled in El Limonar International School in the Murcia area of Spain.
“In the days following the appeal he removed his children from the school and together with his wife, he disappeared.
“We have significant concerns about the children’s wellbeing given they were uprooted, with no notice, from their school, friends and family. It’s highly likely Acklom will have placed his children in another fee-paying school.
Can you help?
- Are you a British expat with your children in a private international school abroad? Have you noticed the recent arrival of a family from Spain with two daughters, aged six and eight?
- Have you seen Mark Acklom or his wife Maria Rodriguez recently? She may be working as a yoga teacher or attending yoga classes where she lives.
Officers know Acklom and his wife have previously set-up businesses working within the property development or rental sectors. Have you met either of them through property ventures in Europe? Both of them may be using aliases and Acklom is fluent in Spanish, as well as other languages.
The last sighting of Mark Acklom was in Geneva, Switzerland
DI Bunting added: “Mark Acklom has links through property to Spain and there’s been a positive sighting in Switzerland.
We also have information linking him to Dublin and Italy, but he could be anywhere in Europe. It’s possible he may have travelled outside the EU.
“He’s described as 5ft 10ins, of medium build, with dark brown hair and green eyes.
“We’re grateful for the ongoing support of the National Crime Agency and our law enforcement colleagues in Europe but we need the help of the media and the public in the UK and Europe to track him down.”
If you have information about the whereabouts of Mark Acklom and are in the UK, contact police by calling 101 and giving the call handler the reference number 7429713 or you can contact them via their website
You can also call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555 111 or use their non-traceable anonymous online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org
You can also view Crimestoppers’ Op Captura appeal featuring Mark Acklom on a dedicated section of their website.
