David Baker

Reforms to Unexplained Wealth Orders: the sword and the shield

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (ECA) made swift passage onto the statute books. Part 2 reforms the regime governing Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs). The Act was heralded by the Home Secretary as “remov[ing] key barriers to the use of unexplained wealth orders”, “chang[ing] the entire way in which UWOs are operationalised”, and giving law enforcement agencies (LEAs), particularly the National Crime Agency (NCA), the “legal basis, legal powers and protections they need” (Hansard, 7.3.22). This article explores the reforms to UWOs, analyses whether they address shortcomings in the regime as initially implemented, and discusses whether the government’s intentions are likely to be fulfilled.