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UK National Crime Agency
The controversial new Unexplained Wealth Order power was used to take control of a London mansion of a descendant of a former Kazakhstan politician, the latest use of such powers, according to the BBC. 

Records show that the property was owned and occupied by Nurali Aliyev, grandson of Kazakhstan's former so-called president for life, the news service said. The property cannot be identified for legal reasons. The outcome for two other properties linked to Aliyev’s family will be decided in a court case that started this week. During the hearing, lawyers for the companies that own the properties will seek to have a National Crime Agency investigation halted.

Law enforcement agents can use UWOs to require owners to disclose how they managed to buy a luxury home. If they do not agree with the explanation, they can then ask the courts to confiscate it. Such a power raises questions about due process of law: a property could be seized even if the purported owner hasn’t been proven to have committed a crime. This publication has commented about these orders.

“There is still a lot of confusion around what UWOs are, who they can be targeted at and who is able to apply for one. Similarly, if you’re on the receiving end of one, it can be difficult to know exactly what that means,” Lee Adams, managing partner of the London office at JMW Solicitors, said today. 

The BBC said that the frozen property is one of three worth more than £80 million in total which have been subject to UWOs since May 2019.

The report said that the High Court ordered the property to be frozen to prevent it being sold by the two companies that own it: Manrick Private Foundation, incorporated in Curacao, and Alderton Investments Ltd, incorporated in Anguilla. Those companies have owned the mansion since 2014.