HIGH COURT FREEZES £50 MILLION IN ASSETS OF TWO BRITISH NATIONALS

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) says the High Court has frozen assets worth £50 million after granting an unexplained wealth order against two British nationals and their associated companies. The assets include a £1.9 million yacht, eight vehicles worth about £600,000 and a bank account holding about £2.6 million, according to the CPS. The order also covers properties in England, France, Spain and Portugal. The man and woman have three months to show that they legally obtained the money used to acquire the assets.

Court documents identify the pair as Mr X and Ms X. Neither has been charged with or convicted of a crime. The High Court also granted an interim property freezing order while the CPS investigates the origin of the funds under proceeds of crime legislation. If the pair do not provide an adequate explanation, the CPS can apply to recover the assets through civil proceedings without a criminal conviction.

Adrian Foster, chief crown prosecutor for the CPS’s proceeds of crime division, said the pair were “legally required to prove how they obtained their wealth”. The case is due to return to the Royal Courts of Justice for a hearing on their anonymity within 28 days. The CPS says this is its second unexplained wealth order since the power took effect in January 2018. The first UK order concerned Zamira Hajiyeva, wife of former International Bank of Azerbaijan chairman Jahangir Hajiyev; in 2024, she forfeited a house worth more than £14 million and a golf club in Ascot.