The UK passed Unexplained Wealth Orders into law on 27 April 2017, and issued the first of these orders in February 2018. In October 2018 the identity of the first Unexplained Wealth Order respondent was revealed. A second case using Unexplained Wealth Orders was announced in May 2019, involving £80 million worth of property belonging to a Politically Exposed Person believed to be involved in serious crime.

TI-UK continues to call for UWOs to be used on the £5 billion worth of UK property bought with suspicious wealth identified in their 2019 report, At Your Service.

As UK law enforcement continue to use UWOs to pursue corrupt assets – and as these are challenged in the courts – Transparency International UK continues to monitor their progress. According to the UK Anti-Corruption Strategy Year 2 Update, the National Crime Agency has obtained 15 UWOs relating to four cases, worth an estimated £143 million.

For the latest information on UWOs in the UK, see Transparency International UK’s press releases.

Updated: October 31, 2020

TI-UK continues to advocate for UK law enforcement to make use of the new powers to address the £5 billion worth of UK property that we have previously flagged as bought with suspicious wealth.

Peer reviewer: 1

Updated: April 30, 2020

The UK's consultation into unexplained wealth orders closed in 2016, and UWOs have since come into force.

Updated: April 30, 2018