Proving the dough: National Crime Agency v Baker & Ors

This note examines the High Court's recent decision in National Crime Agency v Baker to discharge three unexplained wealth orders (UWOs) relating to properties in London. The UWOs were originally granted on the basis that the properties were suspected of constituting ‘recoverable property’ for the purposes of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The decision is the first to overturn an UWO. Given the few UWO applications to date, it is an important contribution to the available jurisprudence on the mechanism. This comment examines the presiding judge's statements on the evidential thresholds to be met in raising a presumption that property constitutes the proceeds of crime and looks at the decision's emphasis on enforcement authorities’ obligations to meet proportionality requirements. It reviews the Court's discussion of complex property ownership structures. It concludes that the judgment raises issues which enforcement authorities may find challenging in seeking to use UWOs in future investigations.