Unexplained Wealth Order needed for police to tackle corruption, says TI-UK

The UK’s asset recovery regime is “not fit for purpose”, according to Transparency International UK, the anti-corruption body. TI-UK research [1] reveals that, in 2014, UK law enforcement refused to allow transactions to go ahead for seven of 94 consent SARs that identified the possible proceeds of international corruption; the sums frozen totalled £113.1m. (A total of just over 14,000 consent SARs were filed last year.) “[T]his is recognised by law enforcement experts as only a very small proportion of the wider threat,” says the report, with many SARs not refused consent due to lack of resources to investigate them within the timeframe under the Proceeds of Crime Act; the National Crime Agency has seven days to respond and a further 31 days to gather sufficient evidence to freeze the assets.