The second case to involve unexplained wealth orders (UWOs) has seen the National Crime Agency targeting three residential properties with a total value of more than £80M.
With UWOs only having been used twice since they were introduced to the UK legal system in January 2018 by the Criminal Finances Act, it remains to be seen how effective they are at identifying the proceeds of crime.
Both of the cases to date have been brought by the National Crime Agency. With the Serious Fraud Office, HM Revenue and Customs, Financial Conduct Authority and Crown Prosecution Service yet to use UWOs – even though they can - Rahman Ravelli’s Aziz Rahman wrote an article that asked whether we will ever see the orders being widely used.
His article, which was published by The Times, questioned the value of UWOs and whether they will live up to their billing as a powerful weapon in the war against dirty money. It can be read here.
