When they were introduced in 2017, Unexplained Wealth Orders ("UWOs") were hailed as an important new law enforcement tool, which would allow more robust and effective investigation of the suspected proceeds of crime....more
In 2022, the UK was forced to reckon with the charge of being soft on economic crime and being the destination of choice for kleptocrats seeking to launder their ill-gotten funds. No longer able to turn a blind eye to these...more
The UK government is taking further measures to tackle economic crime in the UK, reforming its corporate register, and giving extra powers to the Serious Fraud Office. The UK has published the new Economic Crime and...more
On 10 May 2022, the Queen's Speech 2022 was delivered to the UK's Parliament. The speech included a range of announcements relating to different Bills, three of which will be of particular interest to companies in relation...more
The United Kingdom recently passed the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act (ECA) on an expedited basis, bringing key changes to help the UK government and law enforcement combat financial crime....more
What is it? On 15 March 2022 the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (the Act) received royal assent, having been expedited through parliament as part of the United Kingdom’s response to Russia’s invasion...more
In the early hours of 15 March 2022, the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act (the “Act”) came into force. The rapid passage of the Act through the UK Parliament, after years of delays, came in response to...more
Rushed through the Parliament in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the new Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act (the “Act”) received Royal Assent on 15 March 2022....more
The draft Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill, published on 28 February 2022 and following an expedited passage through Parliament, received Royal Asset on 15 March 2022 to become the Act. Some of the...more
New legislation introduces further sanctions powers and aims to tackle financial crime by revealing identities of overseas beneficial owners of UK property. Following the UK government’s successive sanctions packages,...more
The long-awaited Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act received royal assent this morning, after having been fast tracked through the UK Parliament. Here are the key reforms of relevance to businesses....more
The long-awaited Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill (Bill) is being fast tracked through the UK Parliament. Here are the key reforms of relevance to businesses. ...more
At a time when sanctions are very much in the spotlight, the UK government has proposed amendments to its sanctions regime in order to introduce a ‘strict civil liability’ test for sanctions breaches....more
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UK government has brought forward legislation that aims to crack down on foreign owners laundering dirty money through UK property and make it easier for law enforcement...more
On 1 March 2022, the UK Government introduced into Parliament the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill (the "Bill"). The draft legislation contains a number of measures designed to increase transparency and give...more
In January 2018, UK law enforcement agencies were granted new powers to pursue the forfeiture of assets. Unexplained wealth orders ("UWOs") initially grabbed the media's attention, but the relative ease with which UK law...more
In January 2018 the Criminal Finances Act 2017 (“the Act”) came into force. The Act brought in a number of important legal developments, including Asset Freezing and Forfeiture Orders (“AFFOs”) and the offence of failure to...more
In our Quarterly Review, we bring you important UK developments relating to business crime, investigations, and regulatory enforcement from the last three months. As the UK gets used to life outside the EU and implements...more
Following the landmark case before the UK High Court in October 2020 in which a businessman linked to notorious criminals surrendered £10 million in property, land, cash and other assets at the conclusion of an unexplained...more
In a landmark case last month, a businessman linked to notorious criminals surrendered £10 million in property, land, cash and other assets at the conclusion of an unexplained wealth order (UWO). This was the first successful...more
In our Quarterly Review, we bring you important UK developments relating to Business Crime, Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement from the last three months. Please contact us if you would like to discuss any of these...more
On 8 April 2020 the NCA suffered its first setback in using Unexplained Wealth Orders (‘UWOs’). The Respondents in NCA v Baker successfully applied to discharge UWOs relating to three properties in London, all held by...more
On 8 April 2020, the High Court discharged three Unexplained Wealth Orders (“UWOs”) relating to multi-million pound London homes allegedly purchased with the proceeds of crime. In its judgment, the High Court criticised the...more
Recent judgments help to clarify purpose and threshold of unexplained wealth orders. The National Crime Agency (NCA) has had a mixed start to 2020, with appeals heard on unexplained wealth orders (UWOs) testing the new...more
On 8 April 2020, the High Court dismissed three unexplained wealth orders ("UWOs") and related interim freezing orders made under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (National Crime Agency v Baker & Ors [2020] EWHC 822 (Admin)). ...more