“Avaaz, a US-based non-profit activism organisation, petitioned Scotland’s highest court after MSPs rejected calls to pursue an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) against the former US president’s Scottish firms. The government has said that any decision to apply for a UWO is a matter for ministers, with the Civil Recovery Unit (CRU) handling any applications to the courts in practice. But Avaaz, backed by a cross-party group of opposition MSPs, argued that ministers have a duty to seek a UWO where the relevant requirements under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 are met.”
“Its petition to the court stated that there are ‘no reasonable grounds’ to suspect that known sources of lawfully obtained income would have been sufficient to bankroll Mr Trump’s acquisition of his Scottish properties. Now, Lord Sandison has given the green light for Avaaz to seek a judicial review, a development which will reignite the debate over how Mr Trump acquired his Scottish resorts during a decade-long spending spree. Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie, who brought the UWO motion to Holyrood in February, said the decision represented a ‘step forward’ in an issue where Scotland’s reputation was ‘at stake.’ UWOs are rarely used civil powers which allow authorities to target suspected corrupt foreign officials who have potentially laundered stolen money through the UK” – The Scotsman.