Hidden Wealth and State Confiscation: A Comparative Study of India’s Benami Law and the UK’s Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWO)

This research presents a comparative constitutional and regulatory analysis of India's Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 (PBPT Act) and the United Kingdom's Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) regime under the Criminal Finances Act, 2017. In both jurisdictions, civil confiscation regimes are expected to perform aggressive enforcement abilities in addressing the challenges of concealed ownership and illicit wealth, particularly in instances where criminal prosecution is either not viable or time-barred. While India is deriving its anti-money laundering approach from historic notions of "benami" ownership, the UK has issued a more modern legal instrument focused on its politically exposed persons and those associated with serious crime. This research compares both regimes in terms of legislative framework, enforcement practices, burden of proof, property rights, and doctrine of proportionality. It is complemented by empirical enforcement data from the Ministry of Finance and Enforcement Directorate in India, and the National Crime Agency (NCA) and UK Home Office in the UK with concerns include civil confiscation measures integrated with the right to property (Article 300-A, Constitution of India; Protocol 1, Article 1 of the ECHR).