Unexplained Wealth Orders and Account Freezing Orders - Fighting Corruption

Introduction

In 2015, David Cameron announced the government’s commitment to ensure that ‘the UK must not become a safe haven for corrupt money from around the world’.

Two years later, a number of significant and far-reaching extensions to the powers of the UK's criminal investigative and enforcement agencies were enacted in the Criminal Finances Act 2017.

Since 2017, as the various tools provided for in the CFA 2017 have been utilised by the National Crime Agency ("NCA") and other investigative bodies, and challenged in the Courts, it has become increasingly clear that the 2017 Act represents the most significant leap forward in criminal investigation and enforcement since the Proceeds of Crime Act in 2002 and a revolution in the UK's fight against corruption and money laundering.

At the same time, serious concerns have been aired by legal practitioners about the impact of these revolutionary new powers on basic rights and due process. In a high profile case reported in 2020, such concerns were manifest in a challenge to the NCA's use of its new powers.

This webinar will provide an update on the operation and practical implications of the two most significant (and controversial) new powers contained in the 2017 Act.

What You Will Learn

This webinar will cover the following:

• The Criminal Finances Act 2017 - the single biggest leap forward in anti-corruption/proceeds of crime law since the Proceeds of Crime Act in 2002?
• The two most impactful powers contained in the 2017 Act: Unexplained Wealth Orders (‘UWOs’) and Account Freezing Orders (‘AFOs’) and why they are so significant
• The circumstances in which a UWO/AFO can be made; the legal requirements, potential subjects and scope of each type of order
• The practical effects of a UWO/AFO: who can be ordered to disclose what; the extent and duration of asset freezing; the implications for professional advisors (banks; lawyers; accountants; trustees) and other third parties
• What happens after an UWO/AFO is made: the realities of civil recovery actions and implications for subjects and third parties

This webinar was recorded on 24th May 2022