London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Britain’s new anti-corruption tool is proving useful—in certain cases

Britain’s new anti-corruption tool is proving useful—in certain cases

Unexplained Wealth Orders force suspects to prove the legitimacy of their assets
JUDGING BY HIS social-media posts, Mansoor Mahmood Hussain (pictured) was a successful businessman whose shrewd property deals allowed him to enjoy a lavish lifestyle, which included collecting high-performance cars and hobnobbing at VIP parties with the likes of Beyoncé and Simon Cowell.

Investigators looking into criminal gangs in the north of England reached a different conclusion: they suspected Leeds-based Mr Hussain of being a major money-launderer who had helped gangsters, including Mohammed Nisar “Meggy” Khan, a convicted murderer, rinse tens of millions of pounds.

Despite intelligence linking Mr Hussain to organised crime, the National Crime Agency (NCA) struggled to gather the exhaustive evidence needed to bring money-laundering charges. So it turned to a newish legal tool called an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO).

This turns the tables on those suspected of buying assets with dirty money, forcing them to open their books and prove their wealth came from legitimate sources. Mr Hussain has agreed to hand over 45 properties worth £10m ($12.9m). He could yet face a criminal investigation.

The NCA says the result is a “significant” step forward for UWOs, which Britain introduced in 2018. Ireland and Australia already had such provisions. It marks the first time a British case involving a UWO has led to assets being recovered. Criminal money-laundering cases are difficult to prosecute; money trails can be horribly tangled, making it hard to connect the loot to the original crime.

The UWO process, administered under civil law, involves a lower burden of proof and puts the onus on the suspect to prove that their wealth was not ill-gotten.

When Britain’s crime-busters started wielding UWOs, anti-corruption campaigners hoped that they would be a powerful weapon against a different type of ne’er-do-well: dodgy “politically exposed persons”, or PEPs—such as kleptocrats and their associates from places like Russia, Central Asia and Africa—who plough corrupt foreign capital into swanky British properties. Such swag is largely responsible for the “London laundry” tag bestowed on the capital.

Here, however, the NCA has found the going tougher. Of the three other UWO cases brought so far, two have involved PEPs. The one that drew more attention was against Zamira Hajiyeva, the wife of a banker from Azerbaijan: £22m-worth of assets, including a London mansion, were frozen. Ms Hajiyeva lost an appeal, but the case grinds on.

The other case, involving properties owned by the daughter and grandson of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the former president of Kazakhstan, was thrown out in June. The court found that the NCA had not provided sufficient evidence that the use of offshore entities to hold assets suggested financial shenanigans rather than being for legitimate reasons, such as privacy or legal tax mitigation, says Jonah Anderson of White & Case, a law firm.

Cases against PEPs were never going to be easy. They have plenty of money to hire the best lawyers, and many offshore structures are impenetrable. UWOs may prove more useful in domestic-crime cases than those involving international corruption. Gangsters beware.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×