Conman who posed as MI6 agent in romance scam told to pay victim £125,000

Notorious conman Mark Acklom, who posed as a wealthy banker and MI6 agent, has been ordered to pay the victim of a romance scam £125,000 in compensation after a five-year court battle.

Acklom was jailed for duping divorcee Carolyn Woods into handing over all her money after promising to marry her.

He left her penniless and suicidal when he fled abroad, before Sky News tracked him down to Spain and Switzerland, from where he was extradited in 2019.

He was later extradited back to Spain to complete a sentence he'd fled from there.

At the end of a five-year Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) series of hearings at Bristol Crown Court, lawyers agreed that Acklom, 52, had benefited by £710,000 in his fraud against Ms Woods, but that his traceable assets were only £125,000.

He will be jailed for two years if he doesn't comply with the order.

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Judge Martin Picton made a confiscation order of £125,000 against Acklom and in favour of Ms Woods but said there was little chance he would pay her.

He said: "She was drawn in by his determination to bleed her dry and deprived of her dignity by the exercising of his quite extraordinary powers as a conman refined over many years.

"The chances of this court recovering any money from him pretty much evaporated when he was extradited to Spain."

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He said the only benefit of the order was that Acklom could never return to the UK because of the default jail sentence, but that would spare other potential victims.

Ms Woods told Sky News: "The whole thing has been a waste of time and only prolonged my distress for another six years.

"We have heard that the criminal justice system is unfit for purpose and just about everything that has happened over the past 12+ years has highlighted that. The criminals must be laughing."

Specialist Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor Andrew Kerrigan said Acklom was "a calculating persistent fraudster" who duped Ms Woods into believing that he was involved in foreign espionage and was wealthy banker, who needed loans to fund renovation work on his string of properties.

"But this was simply not true, and he acted in a calculated and pre-meditated manner which led to the victim's total financial ruin," he said.

"We continue to pursue the proceeds of crime robustly and identify his available assets."

(c) Sky News 2025: Conman who posed as MI6 agent in romance scam told to pay victim £125,000