Morrison Foerster is an international law firm with lawyers practicing throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. Click to discover more.

mofo_share_image.jpg

Morrison Foerster

favicon.ico

favicon-16x16.png

favicon-32x32.png

apple-touch-icon.png

MoFo Favicons

Terms / Notices

Cookies

Privacy Policy

Attorney Advertising

Secure Login

Alumni

  Facebook

MoFo Facebook

  Linkedin

MoFo LinkedIN

Twitter

MoFo Twitter

YouTube

MoFo Youtube

Morrison Foerster - Footer

You have not solved the recaptcha challenge yet or session expired, try again.

Disclaimer

Unsolicited e-mails and information sent to Morrison & Foerster will not be considered confidential, may be disclosed to others pursuant to our <a href="https://www.mofo.com/about/privacy-policy.html">Privacy Policy</a>, may not receive a response, and do not create an attorney-client relationship with Morrison & Foerster. If you are not already a client of Morrison & Foerster, do not include any confidential information in this message. Also, please note that our attorneys do not seek to practice law in any jurisdiction in which they are not properly authorized to do so.

Feedback

mofo-logo-2022.svg

People

Capabilities

Resources

About

Culture

Offices

Careers

Stay Connected

The target of the UK’s first unexplained wealth order (UWO) has been made public after reporting restrictions expired last week. Mrs Zamira Hajiyeva will now be required to provide the National Crime Agency with proof of the legitimacy of funds used to purchase two properties worth £22 million, a property in Knightsbridge and a golf course near Ascot.

The Money That Cost Too Much – Unexplained Wealth Orders (Update)

About Morrison Forester

people-default-header-desktop.jpg

people-default-header-mobile.jpg

Default Meta Data

The target of the UK’s first unexplained wealth order (UWO) has been made public after reporting restrictions expired last week.  Mrs Zamira Hajiyeva will now be required to provide the National Crime Agency with proof of the legitimacy of funds used to purchase two properties worth £22 million, a property in Knightsbridge and a golf course near Ascot.Mrs Hajiyeva was identified as the wife of Jahangir Hajiyeva, a retired chairman of the International Bank of Azerbaijan. Mr Hajiyeva is currently serving a 15-year sentence in Baku after being convicted of a number of offences, including embezzlement, abuse of office, and fraud. In addition to his imprisonment, Mr Hajiyeva has had to pay penalties totaling approximately £30 million.As noted in our earlier client alert, “<a href="/resources/publications/180215-unexplained-wealth-orders-uk.html">Show Me The Money! Unexplained Wealth Orders in the UK</a>”, UWOs may be issued on the request of regulators against property valued in excess of £50,000 if the respondent is a Politically Exposed Person (PEP). Controversially, a UWO made in relation to a PEP outside the European Economic Area would not require suspicion of serious criminality. Furthermore, once a UWO is issued by the High Court, the burden of proof is reversed. Therefore, there is now a presumption, unless successfully rebutted by Mrs Hajiyeva, that the properties were bought with illegitimate funds.  The use of UWOs so soon after the power was brought into force would suggest that they will become a common tool for regulators to police potential proceeds of crime in the UK economic system; however, how successful they are remains to be seen.