Unexplained Wealth Orders

Tax Question

What are Unexplained Wealth Orders and can HMRC use them?

Tax Answer

An Unexplained Wealth Order came into the legislation on 1st February 2018 and is devised to confiscate the proceeds of crime by using civil powers instead of criminal powers. The power was introduced by section 1 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017. This Act has amended the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA).

An Unexplained Wealth Order can be obtained upon application by one of the following enforcement authorities : the National Crime Agency, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, the Financial Conduct Authority, the Director of the Serious Fraud Office and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

In order to apply to the court to order an Unexplained Wealth Order, the following conditions must be satisfied:

  • The respondent must hold the asset.
  • The value of that asset must be greater than £50,000.
  • There are reasonable grounds for suspecting the known source of the respondent’s lawfully obtained income would have been insufficient for the purposes of enabling the respondent to obtain the asset.
  • The respondent is a politically exposed person or there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that:
  • the respondent is, or has been involved in serious crime (in the UK or elsewhere)
  • a person connected with the respondent is, or has been, so involved.

See more on the gov.uk site here

Linda Eales – Vantage Fee Protect Tax Consultant

Related Tax Questions

MTD Self-employed

My client had turnover from self-employment of £55,000 in the 2024/25 tax year, which means he has to enter Making Tax Digital (MTD) from 6 April 2026. The turnover will be much less in th

View Answer

Non Residence & Personal Allowance

My client is a UK national but resident abroad. My software does not grant personal allowance. Are they entitled to the allowance and how do they get it?

View Answer

Self Assessment Penalty Guidance

My client has received a penalty for a late Self Assessment tax return. Is there anything that can be done to have the penalty removed?

View Answer

Loans to Participators and Budget Changes

The rates of tax on dividends are going up on 6 April 2026. Will this change the amount of tax I pay as an individual on the dividends I receive? What if I overdraw my director’s loan

View Answer

HMRC Nudge Letters

My client, a limited company, has recently received from HMRC a letter stating that they believe that the company may have paid the wrong amount of corporation tax. The letter asks my client to che

View Answer

Deceased Estate Management Expenses – What can be done with them?

Deceased Estate Management Expenses – What can be done with them?

View Answer

Vantage Fee Protect Customer Testimonials

Having changed over to Vantage a couple of years ago we have been very satisfied with the service. Especially the claims handling and technical advice lines for both our firm and insured clients on employment and business legal matters. The webshop Vantage offer allows our clients to join and pay electronically. This positively impacts our bottom line and makes things simple and efficient for our clients.

Linda Giles Chartered Accountant

Real people, real results

Vantage Fee Protect provide market leading Tax Fee Protection
Insurance schemes through accountants.

We use Vantage for our tax fee protection policy which is good value. The tax and VAT helplines are really helpful, manned by real people who answer the calls in good time
Jennie Gillam, Red Fish Accountancy Ltd
Truly professional staff, especially the account manager who handled my account. Thoroughly recommended.
Craig Hanlon, Beancounter Accountancy Services
Fantastic professional service & a very straightforward process. We have made a claim on our policy and everything was clear & simple and our client was happy with their outcome
Lydia Read-Potter, Booksmart Accounting Ltd
I would like to compliment Yasine on his great service and professionalism in handling my company's needs and dealing with all queries surrounding the mailing. Also responding very quickly to emails.
Dave Howe, BAS Bristol
I have used Vantage for over 10 years and never contemplated moving to another provider which I think says it all. Very friendly/competitive in pricing and professional.
Ronald Brotherton, Brothertons Accountants Limited
Always top service and on-hand to deal with any queries. Definitely recommended!
David Wall, A J Bennewith & Co
Having switched to VTFP, we were immediately really impressed with the advice line service, the advisors are brilliant, no waiting times, you nearly always get an advisor on the first time of calling.
Diana Miller, Robinson Miller
We’ve been using your VAT and Tax specialists lately – they’re a godsend – really knowledgeable, straight talking, patient and professional We’re so happy with Vantage.
Debby Wetton, Sealy Shaw
We are very pleased to see that the gross premiums number has gone well beyond the promised mark, your bespoke marketing strategy has played an integral part.
Alan Paterson, AAB LLP
We moved our tax fee protection scheme to Vantage in 2015. The whole process of switching providers turned out to be painless, thanks to the help of the Vantage team.
O’Reilly Chartered Accountants
The Team at Vantage are always a delight and made the switch seamless, we have got so much more out of our Fee Protection scheme since switching to Vantage.
Francesca Tricarico, Future Cloud Accounting
The service has been seamless from start to finish – with clear communication, efficient support, and a real understanding of our needs.
Haroon Sarwar, HMS Accountancy
All the dealings that I have had with you have been excellent. Always helpful and polite; makes my job easier thank you. 10/10.
Janet Brimfield, Thorne Widgery
We use Vantage for our tax fee protection policy which is good value. The tax and VAT helplines are really helpful, manned by real people who answer the calls in good time.
Jennie Gillam, Red Fish Accountancy Ltd

Don’t be shy,
get in touch

Vantage Fee Protect provide market leading Tax Fee Protection
Insurance schemes through accountants.

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Privacy Policy Consent*