17 JAN 2025 - SFO secures first Unexplained Wealth Order in £100m fraud case

ON 17 JANUARY, the SFO secured its first UWO as it seeks to recover a Lake District property believed to have been purchased with the proceeds of a £100m fraud. 

This is the first UWO the SFO has used since it was introduced by parliament in 2017. The SFO is the second law enforcement authority to use the tool. 

This important judgment handed down yesterday gives a fascinating insight into the first-ever Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) obtained by Serious Fraud Office (UK) in their bid to recover a Lake District property the agency believes was bought with the proceeds of a £100 million fraud:

• https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/admin/2025/1146

It’s pleasing to see the SFO creatively use UWOs when they believe a fraudster has used a family member to put criminal property out of reach.

Until now, these ‘McMafia orders’ have been used at the outset of investigations into kleptocratic wealth, with very mixed results.

•  https://www.spotlightcorruption.org/lessons-from-frontline-mcmafia-order/

SOME DETAILS

1. The property is valued at around £1.5 million and is owned by
1. Claire Schools, the ex-wife of Timothy Schools, the convicted solicitor sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2022. 
2. This order follows the confiscation of a further £1 million from Schools in a hearing at Southwark Crown Court earlier this month.
3. The SFO successfully secured an order today to freeze the property to ensure that the proceeds are secured if it is sold.
4. Ms Schools has also been ordered to produce information about how the property was obtained within 28 days.
5. The SFO may use this information to bring a case to seize the house later.

UWO BACKGROUND

6. A UWO is an investigative tool used to determine the source of funding for an asset, where there is reasonable suspicion that it was acquired with the proceeds of crime.
7. If the recipient fails to prove that the asset was acquired legitimately, the SFO may apply to seize it at the High Court.  
8. This is the first UWO used by the SFO since they were introduced by parliament in 2017. The SFO is the second law enforcement authority to ever use the tool. 
9. Nick Ephgrave QPM, Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), said: 
1. This is a milestone case for the SFO and follows on from last week’s successful £1 million recovery to go back to the victims in this case.
2. Wherever criminal assets have been hidden or dispersed, we will progress our investigations with determination and explore new methods to recover funds for victims and the public purse.

SOURCE

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/sfo-secures-first-unexplained-wealth-order-in-100m-fraud-case