Unexplained wealth order

An unexplained wealth order (UWO) is a type of court order issued by a British court to compel the target to reveal the sources of their unexplained wealth. UWOs were introduced by sections 1–2 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017 and are governed by sections 362A–362T of Part 8 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Persons who fail to account are liable to have assets seized after an enforcement authority, such as the National Crime Agency (NCA), makes a successful appeal to the High Court.

The power of UWOs in fighting money laundering lies in their reverse onus principle, however the orders are ineffective as soon as a defendant can provide an explanation for the source of their wealth. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the defendant then wins the argument. Information obtained in the context of a UWO cannot be used in a criminal proceeding. The statutory and regulatory scheme for UWOs is set out in paragraphs 11–18 of Hajiyeva v National Crime Agency [2020] EWCA Civ 108 (05 February 2020).