Overview
On 5 February 2020, the UK Court of Appeal dismissed a challenge to the UK’s first Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO). Mrs. Zamira Hajiyeva, wife of the former chair of the International Bank of Azerbaijan who was sentenced to 15 years in jail in 2016 for defrauding the bank out of £2.2 billion, launched a challenge against the UK National Crime Agency’s (NCA) first ever UWO, attempting to overturn the UWO against a property in Knightsbridge, London, purchased for £11.5 million. Her arguments that the NCA mischaracterized her husband’s status as a politically exposed person (PEP) and that her husband’s conviction was the result of a “grossly unfair trial” were rejected by the Court of Appeal. This decision will likely energise and provide a boost to the NCA and other law enforcement agencies in seeking UWOs to seize ill-gotten gains in the future.
First introduced under the Criminal Finances Act 2017, UWOs require an individual respondent to explain the legitimacy of the source of funds used to acquire his or her interest in relevant property, both in the UK and abroad. Certain UK authorities can obtain UWOs against PEPs and individuals involved in serious crime outside the EEA and individuals who are, or are connected to those, involved in serious crime. To obtain a UWO from the English High Court, the interested authority need only satisfy a reasonably low threshold. It must show that:
- there are “reasonable grounds” to suspect that the respondent’s known lawfully obtained income would be insufficient to allow the respondent to obtain the relevant property; and
- that the respondent is, or is connected to, an individual who is involved in serious crime or a PEP outside the EEA.