Thefirst personagainst whom anunexplained wealth order hasbeen issued isZamiraHajiyeva,the wife of JahangirHajiyev, who was the chairman of the International Bank of Azerbaijan, the largest bank in the country. unexplained wealth order (UWO) against properties owned by a Northern Irish person. These so-called 'McMafia' laws - named after the BBC organised crime drama - are seen as a way of making wealthy figures account for their luxury lifestyles. Mrs Hajiyeva lost a legal battle to stay anonymous after the media argued the public should know the full facts. .c_dVyWK3BXRxSN3ULLJ_t{border-radius:4px 4px 0 0;height:34px;left:0;position:absolute;right:0;top:0}._1OQL3FCA9BfgI57ghHHgV3{-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-ms-flex-pack:start;justify-content:flex-start;margin-top:32px}._1OQL3FCA9BfgI57ghHHgV3 ._33jgwegeMTJ-FJaaHMeOjV{border-radius:9001px;height:32px;width:32px}._1OQL3FCA9BfgI57ghHHgV3 ._1wQQNkVR4qNpQCzA19X4B6{height:16px;margin-left:8px;width:200px}._39IvqNe6cqNVXcMFxFWFxx{display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;margin:12px 0}._39IvqNe6cqNVXcMFxFWFxx ._29TSdL_ZMpyzfQ_bfdcBSc{-ms-flex:1;flex:1}._39IvqNe6cqNVXcMFxFWFxx .JEV9fXVlt_7DgH-zLepBH{height:18px;width:50px}._39IvqNe6cqNVXcMFxFWFxx ._3YCOmnWpGeRBW_Psd5WMPR{height:12px;margin-top:4px;width:60px}._2iO5zt81CSiYhWRF9WylyN{height:18px;margin-bottom:4px}._2iO5zt81CSiYhWRF9WylyN._2E9u5XvlGwlpnzki78vasG{width:230px}._2iO5zt81CSiYhWRF9WylyN.fDElwzn43eJToKzSCkejE{width:100%}._2iO5zt81CSiYhWRF9WylyN._2kNB7LAYYqYdyS85f8pqfi{width:250px}._2iO5zt81CSiYhWRF9WylyN._1XmngqAPKZO_1lDBwcQrR7{width:120px}._3XbVvl-zJDbcDeEdSgxV4_{border-radius:4px;height:32px;margin-top:16px;width:100%}._2hgXdc8jVQaXYAXvnqEyED{animation:_3XkHjK4wMgxtjzC1TvoXrb 1.5s ease infinite;background:linear-gradient(90deg,var(--newCommunityTheme-field),var(--newCommunityTheme-inactive),var(--newCommunityTheme-field));background-size:200%}._1KWSZXqSM_BLhBzkPyJFGR{background-color:var(--newCommunityTheme-widgetColors-sidebarWidgetBackgroundColor);border-radius:4px;padding:12px;position:relative;width:auto} The complexity of the unexplained wealth order process could be one reason the authorities have moved slowly, some legal experts suggest. ._9ZuQyDXhFth1qKJF4KNm8{padding:12px 12px 40px}._2iNJX36LR2tMHx_unzEkVM,._1JmnMJclrTwTPpAip5U_Hm{font-size:16px;font-weight:500;line-height:20px;color:var(--newCommunityTheme-bodyText);margin-bottom:40px;padding-top:4px;text-align:left;margin-right:28px}._2iNJX36LR2tMHx_unzEkVM{-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex}._2iNJX36LR2tMHx_unzEkVM ._24r4TaTKqNLBGA3VgswFrN{margin-left:6px}._306gA2lxjCHX44ssikUp3O{margin-bottom:32px}._1Omf6afKRpv3RKNCWjIyJ4{font-size:18px;font-weight:500;line-height:22px;border-bottom:2px solid var(--newCommunityTheme-line);color:var(--newCommunityTheme-bodyText);margin-bottom:8px;padding-bottom:8px}._2Ss7VGMX-UPKt9NhFRtgTz{margin-bottom:24px}._3vWu4F9B4X4Yc-Gm86-FMP{border-bottom:1px solid var(--newCommunityTheme-line);margin-bottom:8px;padding-bottom:2px}._3vWu4F9B4X4Yc-Gm86-FMP:last-of-type{border-bottom-width:0}._2qAEe8HGjtHsuKsHqNCa9u{font-size:14px;font-weight:500;line-height:18px;color:var(--newCommunityTheme-bodyText);padding-bottom:8px;padding-top:8px}.c5RWd-O3CYE-XSLdTyjtI{padding:8px 0}._3whORKuQps-WQpSceAyHuF{font-size:12px;font-weight:400;line-height:16px;color:var(--newCommunityTheme-actionIcon);margin-bottom:8px}._1Qk-ka6_CJz1fU3OUfeznu{margin-bottom:8px}._3ds8Wk2l32hr3hLddQshhG{font-weight:500}._1h0r6vtgOzgWtu-GNBO6Yb,._3ds8Wk2l32hr3hLddQshhG{font-size:12px;line-height:16px;color:var(--newCommunityTheme-actionIcon)}._1h0r6vtgOzgWtu-GNBO6Yb{font-weight:400}.horIoLCod23xkzt7MmTpC{font-size:12px;font-weight:400;line-height:16px;color:#ea0027}._33Iw1wpNZ-uhC05tWsB9xi{margin-top:24px}._2M7LQbQxH40ingJ9h9RslL{font-size:12px;font-weight:400;line-height:16px;color:var(--newCommunityTheme-actionIcon);margin-bottom:8px} Well send you a link to a feedback form. During her unsuccessful challenge to the Unexplained Wealth Order, Mrs Hajiyeva said her husband was a legitimate businessman who had become independently wealthy thanks to a string of successful businesses, before becoming a chairman at the bank. For historical reasons I'd say it's possible. To improve our website, we would like to use additional cookies to help us understand how visitors use the site, measure traffic to our site from social media platforms and to personalise your experience. If youd like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. The new Unexplained Wealth Orders are an attempt to force the owners to disclose their wealth. An unexplained wealth order (UWO) is an investigatory order placed on a respondent whose assets appear disproportionate to their income to explain the origins of their wealth. Its current market value is estimated at 15m. 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We will use all the powers available to us to target those we suspect are trying to launder money and will explore every opportunity to deny assets linked to illicit finance., Leading the UK's fight to cut serious and organised crime, NCA general enquiries or to verify an NCA officer, available 24/7, NCA secures Unexplained Wealth Order against properties owned by a Northern Irish woman, Bribery, corruption and sanctions evasion, Operation Stovewood: Rotherham child sexual abuse investigation, Intelligence: enhancing the picture of serious organised crime affecting the UK, Investigating and disrupting the highest risk serious and organised criminals, Providing specialist capabilities for law enforcement. "The decision of the High Court upholding the grant of an Unexplained Wealth Order against Zamira Hajiyeva does not and should not be taken to imply any wrongdoing, whether on her part or that of her husband," they said in a statement. 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UWOs were introduced by sections 12 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017 and are governed by sections 362A362T of Part 8 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Check benefits and financial support you can get, Find out about the Energy Bills Support Scheme, Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill 2022: overarching documents, nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3, Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, said: Time is up for Putins cronies hiding dirty money in the UK and this new legislation will help to crack down on economic crime, including removing key barriers to using unexplained wealth orders., legislative reform is required to strengthen and reinforce the UWO regime to ensure the powers can be used to maximum effect, particularly to ensure property held via complex ownership structures and trusts is within the scope of the regime. The Serious Fraud Office, HM Revenue & Customs, Financial Conduct Authority and Crown Prosecution Service have authority but have so far not used the legislation. This Bill is designed to reform and strengthen the UKs Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) regime to enable law enforcement to investigate the origin of property and recover the proceeds of crime. The National Crime Agency applied for an unexplained wealth order against her, arguing that the husbands employment as a state employee from 1993-2015 would not have allowed him and his wife to amass the wealth traced to them. Examples of her big spending, revealed to the court, included 150,000 spent on a single day on Boucheron - a luxury jewellery, perfume and watches brand. The UWOcanbe applied to anatural or legalpersonifa number ofconditions are met: Theperson is reasonably suspected of involvement in, or of being connected to person involved in the commission of a serious crime(in the UK or elsewhere);orthe person is apolitically exposed person (PEP)from outside the European Economic Area-orisassociated with such a person (e.g. Who are the couple at the centre of this first action? .ehsOqYO6dxn_Pf9Dzwu37{margin-top:0;overflow:visible}._2pFdCpgBihIaYh9DSMWBIu{height:24px}._2pFdCpgBihIaYh9DSMWBIu.uMPgOFYlCc5uvpa2Lbteu{border-radius:2px}._2pFdCpgBihIaYh9DSMWBIu.uMPgOFYlCc5uvpa2Lbteu:focus,._2pFdCpgBihIaYh9DSMWBIu.uMPgOFYlCc5uvpa2Lbteu:hover{background-color:var(--newRedditTheme-navIconFaded10);outline:none}._38GxRFSqSC-Z2VLi5Xzkjy{color:var(--newCommunityTheme-actionIcon)}._2DO72U0b_6CUw3msKGrnnT{border-top:none;color:var(--newCommunityTheme-metaText);cursor:pointer;padding:8px 16px 8px 8px;text-transform:none}._2DO72U0b_6CUw3msKGrnnT:hover{background-color:#0079d3;border:none;color:var(--newCommunityTheme-body);fill:var(--newCommunityTheme-body)} News stories, speeches, letters and notices, Reports, analysis and official statistics, Data, Freedom of Information releases and corporate reports. They have applied for permission to appeal against the order. In 2020/21, just under 219 million of the proceeds of crime were recovered within England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.This continues the general trend of improved performance since 2016 to 2017.