By Rachel Cook, senior associate at Peters & Peters Solicitors

In 2016, the government announced that hundreds of UK properties, suspected of belonging to corrupt individuals, would be seized by enforcement agencies under a tough new tool: Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs).

The orders were designed to tackle London’s reputation as a haven for dirty money, shining a light on anonymous ultimate beneficial owners, and expectations were high. However, despite a promising start, UWOs have since been used cautiously, only deployed against four targets.