On 7th June 2023 the NCA obtained an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) against a Birmingham man, Yaqub Younis and his company, Regal Capital UK Limited.

Yesterday (14th September), a High Court judge refused an application brought by Mr Younis’ son to vary the UWO to replace Yaqub Younis as the respondent and to obtain a further six weeks to respond to the UWO.

Yaqub Younis (46) is currently on the run, having been recalled to prison for breach of his licence in February 2023.

He and his company did not comply with the requirements imposed by the UWO and this failure has given rise – for the first time in British Legal history – to a statutory presumption that the assets subject to the Unexplained Wealth Order may be recoverable property.

The Judge also granted an application by the NCA for a Property Freezing Order over 14 properties belonging to Mr Younis, with a total value of £1.25m, which were subject to an Interim Freezing Order in June. This prevents the properties being sold, transferred or dissipated while the investigation continues. This order will be in place for 9 months initially.

Discussing the orders, which include the first UWO since 2020, Head of Asset Denial, Rob Burgess stated the following: “The orders granted in this case demonstrate that the NCA will utilise the full range of investigative powers to pursue and recover the proceeds of crime and unlawful conduct. The Unexplained Wealth Order obtained in this case compelled the suspect to explain the source of his wealth. He has failed to do so. We will continue our investigation but there is now a legal presumption that the properties frozen today are recoverable property.”

15 September 2023