Unexplained Wealth Orders should be used more frequently
UWOs are used to great effect in other countries, it’s time for the UK to make greater use of them, says Tony McClements.
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The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has recently secured its first-ever Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) against the former wife of a solicitor jailed for defrauding investors in the Axiom Legal Financing Fund.
The SFO has quite rightly trumpeted this decision as a significant moment in the fight against UK financial crime.
The UWO demands that the spouse of the alleged wrongdoer should explain how she acquired a £1.5m ($1.85m) property in the Lake District, an asset suspected of having been purchased with illicit funds.
The ruling is not only a milestone for the SFO, but for UK law enforcement in general.
