Court upholds UK's first unexplained wealth order

The High Court has upheld the UK's first unexplained wealth order (UWO), dismissing a legal challenge to the order obtained by the National Crime Agency (NCA) earlier this year. According to a report on the Out-Law.com site, it has now emerged that the order was granted against Zamira Hajiyeva, wife of Jahangir Hajiyeva, a former banker imprisoned for fraud and embezzlement in Azerbaijan, after the court lifted reporting restrictions originally placed on the judgment. Under the terms of the UWO, Hajiyeva must disclose to the NCA how she could afford £22m worth of UK real estate. Civil fraud and asset recovery expert Alan Sheeley, of Pinsent Masons, described the order as ‘a ground-breaking step in law enforcement's fight against crime and a leap in the right direction to clean up the UK's image of being a place where fraudsters can hide large sums of ill-gotten gains’. ‘However, it is important to realise that although UWOs are a civil remedy, only law enforcement agencies can apply for these orders,’ he said. ‘With continuing government cutbacks, only time will tell whether these orders will become a common tool in the fight against fraudsters more generally.’ UWOs were first introduced in the UK in January, under the 2017 Criminal Finances Act. Once granted by the court, an UWO compels a person to explain the nature and extent of their interest in particular assets worth £50 000 or more; explain how they obtained the assets, especially how they were funded; and to disclose any other information specified in the order. Failure to comply with a UWO creates a presumption that the assets have been obtained through unlawful conduct, and they are therefore vulnerable to civil recovery proceedings.