A masters student who has had millions of pounds of UK property frozen in relation to a $2bn money laundering probe is petitioning a London court to keep her identity private.

At a hearing in London’s High Court on Wednesday, lawyers for the woman — known as ‘GKC’ — fought to keep her anonymous on the basis that she is the subject of “suspicion” rather than a full action from the UK’s National Crime Agency.

The NCA secured a so-called unexplained wealth order (UWO), which requires individuals to explain how they have lawfully acquired an asset, against the woman in July 2025. 

The UWO and linked interim freezing order (IFO) relate to two multi-million-pound flats in the UK purchased in GKC’s name and about £800,000 in bank accounts that have been frozen, according to court filings. One of the apartments was bought for £4mn.

The woman came to England when she was 16 and attended boarding school. She said in court papers that she has ambitions to work in banking after completing her masters, and that these would be harmed if she lost anonymity. She had no declared income or earning records at the time the UWO was sought. 

The NCA’s case centres on whether those assets were given to her by people connected to a $2bn money laundering investigation in Singapore. The agency says her identity should be made public, with its barrister Andrew Sutcliffe KC telling the court that the process should not operate under a “cloak of privacy”.

The woman unsuccessfully sought to have the UWO quashed by the court last month. She is seeking permission to appeal that decision.

UWOs were first introduced in 2018 in a bid to target illicit wealth being brought into Britain. Since then, law enforcement agencies such as the NCA have secured high-profile orders against individuals including the wife of a jailed Azeri banker.

Earlier this week, the Crown Prosecution Service obtained a UWO against a Chinese national and associated UK companies in relation to a property portfolio worth more than £81mn. 

GKC’s lawyers sought to argue that she should be granted the same anonymity rights as someone pre-charge in a criminal investigation.

“The obtaining of a UWO is not a public trial. It is the granting of an investigative order in order to assist the NCA to build a case,” said Tim Owen KC, acting for GKC. 

He added: “We are at the stage of the NCA having suspicions. Those suspicions have not crystallised into a decision that there is an evidential basis to pursue a claim.”

A judgment on anonymity will be handed down at a later date.