One of Britain’s most wanted fugitives has appeared in court after being extradited from Switzerland to the UK.

Mark Acklom, 45, allegedly posed as a Swiss banker and an MI6 agent during a year-long relationship with a woman and is accused of tricking her out of her life savings of £850,000 in 2012, according to police.

He was escorted from Geneva to Bristol airport by specially trained officers on Friday, Avon and Somerset police said, and appeared at Bristol magistrates court on Saturday.

The Swiss supreme court last week rejected Acklom’s argument that his human rights would not be guaranteed in a post-Brexit Britain, according to Sky News.

A spokesman for the National Crime Agency (NCA) said it had worked closely with authorities in Switzerland, along with Avon and Somerset police, to bring Acklom before the British courts after a European arrest warrant was issued in June 2016.

Acklom was previously believed to be at large in Spain, but in May 2017 he was spotted in Geneva. He was arrested at a luxury apartment overlooking Lake Zurich in June last year, where he had been living with his wife and two young daughters under a false name after more than two years on the run.

Acklom is accused of 12 offences of converting or removing criminal property and eight of fraud by false representation. According to police he posed as a Swiss banker and MI6 agent during his relationship with Carolyn Woods, 61.

Woods told Sky News: “I’ve waited a long time for this moment and hope that the full weight of the law can be brought to bear, and that justice will be done.”

She previously told the broadcaster: “I was completely devastated, he left me destitute and destroyed my life. I felt as though I had fallen in love. He told me he had never felt this way about anyone and we must get married. I’ve still got the wedding dress I never wore. It was all a charade. At the time I actually wished he had killed me. I was suicidal.”

Acklom allegedly duped Woods into lending him her life savings for renovation work at a number of properties in Bath after meeting her when he walked into her boutique in Gloucestershire.

Ch Insp Gary Haskins of Avon and Somerset police said: “No matter where suspected criminals are in the world we will always do everything we can to track them down and bring them back to the UK to face justice. This extradition would not have been possible without the support of all our law enforcement partners and I’m extremely grateful for their assistance in helping us bring Acklom home to answer some very serious charges.”

Ian Cruxton, the head of international operations for the NCA, said: “We have worked closely with our partners in Switzerland and Avon and Somerset police to bring about this extradition and put Mark Acklom before the UK courts. This case once again demonstrates our ability to track down fugitives wherever they may be. The NCA’s international reach means there is no safe place to hide for individuals wanted in the UK.”

Police said Acklom was named as one of the UK’s most wanted fugitives as part of Operation Captura, a multi-agency initiative involving the NCA and Crimestoppers to track down British fugitives abroad.