The Analysis Comment
Unexplained wealth orders: a civil attack on ‘dirty money’
Regulators are beginning to use their new legal powers, regardless of the complexity and lengthy nature of such cases
Bambos Tsiattalou Partner, Stokoe Partnership
Unexplained wealth orders (UWO) are court orders compelling someone reasonably suspected of involvement in, or connection with a person involved in, serious crime to explain the nature and extent of their interest in particular properties. They are required to explain how the
property was obtained where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that their known, lawfully obtained income would be insufficient to allow them to obtain the property. Failure to do so could result in asset forfeiture.
Politically exposed person A UWO can be issued against items worth more than £50,000. They are also available if the property
owner is considered a ‘politically exposed person’ (PEP), where their political or commercial connections are in a country outside the European Economic Area.
Agencies able to obtain UWOs are:
l The National Crime Agency (NCA). l Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. l The Financial Conduct Authority. l The Serious Fraud Office. l The Crown Prosecution Service.
First UWOs The UK’s first UWO was against Zamira Hajiyeva, the wife of the former chairman of a state-owned bank in Azerbajan, who is serving a 15-year sentence for fraud. The high-value London property market
has for a long time been a target of money laundering. The second instance in which the NCA
underpins and enables most forms of organised crime, allowing crime groups to further their operations and conceal their assets.”
“Money
Reverse onus principle Introduced under the Criminal Finances Act 2017, UWOs apply a reverse onus principle. They are a civil power requiring a person to provide information
as to their lawful ownership of property and the means by which it was obtained. It is an investigative power, meaning that a UWO alone cannot be used to recover assets.
12 laundering
obtained a UWO was also in respect of a PEP believed to be involved in serious crime. In June 2019, the NCA used UWOs in its
investigation into London property totalling £80m. The NCA states that: “Money laundering underpins and enables most forms of organised crime, allowing crime groups to further their operations and conceal their assets.”
Conclusion All concerned should be aware of the implications of being made the subject of a civil order that reverses the onus of proof onto the ‘suspect’. The process is clearly lengthy, costly, and complicated, but it is one that the NCA is prepared to use. CCR
www.CCRMagazine.com December 2019
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