Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs)

UWOs – Sections 1–2 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017 and sections 362A–362T of Part 8 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

UWOs grant new civil powers to UK law enforcement agencies to help them identify, investigate and seize property suspected to represent the proceeds of criminal activity.

A UWO can be issued by the High Court (upon the application of a number of bodies including the National Crime Agency, Crown Prosecution Service, HMRC, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO)) where an individual is ‘reasonably suspected’ of involvement or connected to a person involved in serious crime. A UWO  obliges the individual to explain how property was obtained (eg. how a property was purchased) when there may be no discernible legitimate source of funds.  As such UWOs allow for the confiscation of property without proving criminality, by reversing the burden of proof so that the person subject to a UWO application needs to show that legitimate funds were used to purchase the property and / or finance a lifestyle.