The Limitations of Unexplained Wealth Orders

Unexplained wealth orders (UWOs) were introduced in the UK as a means of bolstering law enforcement agencies capacity to confiscate the proceeds of crime, particularly those of large-scale overseas corruption. The first several cases involving UWOs have produced mixed results. Based on legislative history and current case law, this article argues that the UKs design of UWOs as an information-gathering tool entails a fundamental weakness that is bound to constrain their effectiveness. Itrepresents a deliberate concession to human rights concerns that would otherwise arise, but it is submitted that as a result UWOs are hardly sufficient to address the challenges they were intended to resolve.The UKs legislative scheme is contrasted with comparable provisions in other countries that are better suited to facilitating civil recovery, and realistic but meaningful improvements are proposed.