INTERPOL prepares to launch 'silver notice' for tracing proceeds of crime

INTERPOL already has at its disposal an extensive array of notices which it is able to distribute to police in 196 member countries to coordinate efforts in international and multi-jurisdictional investigations. The types of notice are colour-coded according to their purpose, with the most common being the red notice aimed at finding and arresting wanted criminals or suspects. Yellow, blue, black, green, orange and purple notices also exist, along with a special notice issued for entities and individuals who are the targets of UN Security Council sanctions committees.

With the emergence of virtual assets as a means of concealing criminal gains, INTERPOL conceived the idea of a silver notice in 2015. The silver notice aims to improve international cooperation mechanisms on asset-tracing and recovery, notably through better information sharing and the creation of new legal and operational tools. It would be used as a means to 'track the offenders, terrorist financers and others who are using virtual currencies like Bitcoin to move and store illicit funds, out of the reach of law enforcement and other authorities', said the organisation. The need for a new notice type was deemed to be pressing, as at the time it was estimated that only 3 to 5 per cent of global illicit financial flows had been intercepted by law enforcement.

The project remained dormant until 2022, when INTERPOL appointed an expert working group to assess various proposals devoted to the exchange of financial information and to the tracing and recovery of criminal assets. In December 2023, this group concluded that the silver notice and a corresponding 'diffusion' process could be created. Accordingly, INTERPOL's general assembly approved the launch of a pilot scheme to test its value. This pilot programme has now been scheduled to start in January 2025 and is expected to last for two years.

INTERPOL has already begun raising public awareness of its coming involvement in asset recovery. In May 2024, it issued a joint statement with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) stating that countries need to 'urgently step up their efforts to target the huge illicit profits generated by transnational organised crime'. The call to action, backed by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, says global financial integrity is 'critical for financial stability, inclusion, and for peace and security', and demanded accelerated progress on policy reforms and capacity-building ahead of the UN 2026 Crime Congress.

Although only INTERPOL itself will have the power to issue silver notices, on request from a national police force, it would be possible for them to be inappropriately issued, warns Gherson Solicitors. Such an event could have significant impact on the individual's property and livelihood, said the firm.

Law firm Payne Hicks Beach confirmed that Interpol notices have been abused in the past. 'Political persecution and fabricated charges have resulted in improper requests from authoritarian regimes', it said. 'It is possible that the new silver notices may be open to similar abuse. If rogue states can find means of dressing up the prosecution of dissenters, journalists and others as legitimate criminal investigations, silver notices might be used to deprive those same people of their assets. Whilst the exact mechanics of the silver notice have not been confirmed, INTERPOL must be careful to ensure that they cannot be abused.'

Sources

• Gherson
• Nyman Gibson Miralis
• Payne Hicks Beach
• INTERPOL (Resolution, PDF)
• INTERPOL (about notices)