AML Executive Consultants / Financial Action Task Force

Consumers report being cold called by AML Executive Consultants / Financial Action Task Force. Initial contact was made by agents from the Financial Action Task Force, who claimed to work with AML Executive Consultants. They also mentioned working with the FCA, Trading standards and the Fraud Squad.

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Investigation suggests that much of this information is false - the company is not registered with the FCA. They do not appear to be related to the Financial Action Task Force headquartered in Paris, France.

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The callers claimed they could help recover money from mis-sold timeshares and could help with any contract annulments. It was suggested that a Zoom call be arranged so a consultant could carry out a free assessment and advise of any potential claim. Consumers were told there would be an upfront fee for the claim, and the company would take an additional 25% of any money successfully reclaimed.

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These callers made a number of claims about how they had access to consumer information. Some callers said that the information they used came from the Timeshare Register. Others claimed that there is a National Timeshare Database of people who had engaged fraudulent companies to exit their timeshares. These registers / databases do not exist.

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They told consumers that they had not legally exited their timeshares and that timeshare companies could take over others and resurrect their ownership. They said that these companies would then ask for unpaid maintenance fees. Consumers were told that because their exits were not legal, they could be involved in money laundering investigations. This was all false information - consumers checked with their timeshare companies and confirmed that they had legally exited their timeshares.

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These cold callers have used various names - Olivia Blake, Jane Harris, Charles Worthington, Catrina MacDonald, Peter Barker, Marie, Helen, Julie, Elizabeth, Gary, Maxine Roberts, Emma Cross, Sid Khan, Christian Burton.

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They have used a number of company names in their phone calls with consumers - AML Executive Consultants, Anti Money Laundering (AML), Financial Action Task Force, Fraud Action Passport, Anti Fraud Laundry (AFL).

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Consumers have reported unsolicited contact from this company. If initial contact was unsolicited – a cold call or email or text out of the blue, it gives rise to concerns as to whether your data has been acquired and used legally. Unsolicited contact by phone, text or email is likely to be a breach of data protection laws and it is recommended that it is reported to the appropriate national data authority. In the UK, this is the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as rogue businesses also often sell the information on to fraudsters.

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It is our strong recommendation that consumers do not pay upfront fees for timeshare-related legal services without first having had a detailed viability report from a qualified lawyer which can then be evaluated and decisions made.

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You can always ask a claims business to provide you with a viability report – you should emphasise that it must be produced by an identifiable, qualified legal practitioner. This is a good way of testing their authenticity. KwikChex will be pleased to help assess any response.

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Previous Business Address: Blake House, Blake Street, York, YO1 8QG