According to the statutory act, the Supreme Court (in Scotland - the Court of Session) may issue an order to verify any type of property worth more than £50 thousand (about 3.7 million rubles, in the original version of the bill proposed to set the amount twice as much), raising doubts about its acquisition on legally obtained income.

The basis for its issuance is an appropriate application of law enforcers (in Scotland - members of the government), containing information about the property, including its alleged owner (the document notes that it can be not only a citizen of the United Kingdom).

Before deciding whether to make an injunction, the court must be satisfied that it is reasonable, by ascertaining that:

• the alleged property owner's (the defendant) official income does not permit the purchase of this type of property;
• the defendant is a politically exposed person (a person with a public function, a relative, or other affiliated person) or there are reasons to believe that he or she has been involved in or associated with the perpetrators of serious crimes.

The court order requires the defendant to disclose the nature and extent of his or her involvement in the property, the manner in which the property was acquired (including the origin of all funds used for the purchase), the existence of trustees and other information relating to the questionable property. The court shall determine a reasonable time limit for the preparation of a response, during which time an injunction may be issued against the disposition of the property. Property whose legitimacy is not confirmed within that time limit may be subject to a restraining order. The court may also order the defendant to disclose the nature and extent of his or her involvement in the property, the manner in which the property was acquired (including the origin of all funds used for the purchase), the existence of trustees and other information relating to the questionable property.

The new legislation can be applied to any type of property of dubious origin: expensive cars, jewelry, works of art. However, the most common way of hiding illegally acquired funds is the purchase of expensive real estate, and the United Kingdom and its territories are considered one of the most popular places to acquire such property. Thus, according to a recent report by Transparency International, dubious funds have been acquired in London with the help of expensive real estate.

The adoption of the new law is intended to fill the existing gaps in the legislation, which allow the removal of illegally gained funds from other countries by investing them in the purchase of real estate in the U.K. However, activists note that for its successful implementation in practice, law enforcers will need financial and political support to investigate the rich and powerful.