Interpol issues first Silver Notice to trace illicit wealth laundered across borders

New Delhi: Adding a new tool to its armoury of colour-coded notices, the Interpol has issued its first Silver Notice to locate assets laundered across borders as part of a pilot project in which India is also a participant, the global body said Friday.

In its response to a PTI query on the notice, the Interpol said in a statement it has issued the first Silver Notice on the request of Italy which has sought information about the assets of a senior mafia member.

The Lyon-based international police cooperation organisation said the pilot project has participation from 52 members including India.

At present, the Interpol has eight types of colour-coded notices which allows a member country to seek specific kind of information worldwide. The Red Notice allows a country to request the detention of fugitive living in another country.

India has at least 10 fugitive economic offenders. There is no accurate estimation of the total amount of black money which has been transferred offshore.

"The Silver notice will help India to locate assets of criminals who have transferred their illicit wealth to tax havens and other countries thinking that it will never be traced or accounted for," an official in the know of the development in India said.

Under the project, 500 notices can be requested which will be equally divided among the participating countries, the Interpol said.

The information about notices or individuals for whom information is being sought by a country will not be made public by the Interpol.

"The Silver Notice is the newest addition to the Organization's suite of colour-coded Notices and Diffusions, which enable countries to share alerts and requests for information worldwide. It is being launched as part of a pilot phase involving 52 countries and territories, which will run at least until November 2025," the Interpol said.

The countries can request "information on assets linked to a person's criminal activities such as fraud, corruption, drug trafficking, environmental crime and other serious offenses" through Silver Notices disseminated to all 196 members or Silver Diffusion notices sent to select countries.

"It will facilitate locating, identifying, and obtaining information about laundered assets including properties, vehicles, financial accounts and businesses. Countries may subsequently use such information as a basis for bilateral engagement, including bilateral requests for seizure, confiscation or recovery of assets, subject to national laws," the Interpol said.

Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said stripping criminals and their networks of illegal profits is one of the most powerful ways to fight transnational organised crime, especially considering that 99 per cent of criminal assets remain unrecovered.

"By targeting their financial gains, Interpol is working to disrupt criminal networks and reduce their harmful impact on communities worldwide," he said.

The Interpol General Secretariat will review every Silver Notice and Diffusion for compliance with the Organisation's rules prior to its publication or circulation.

"This includes ensuring they are not used for political purposes, in contravention of Article 3 of Interpol's Constitution. During the pilot phase, extracts of Silver Notices will not be published on Interpol's website," the statement said.

The Interpol's 91st General Assembly, held in Vienna, in 2023 outlined the development and implementation of the Silver Notice and Diffusion pilot through a resolution.

The resolution tasked the Expert Working Group on Asset Tracing and Recovery, in collaboration with the General Secretariat, with designing the pilot's scope, format, conditions and safeguard measures.

Interpol's Red Notice seeks to locate and arrest people wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentence.

The Yellow Notice helps locate missing persons, often minors, or identify persons who are unable to identify themselves. The Blue Notice collects additional information about a person's identity, location or activities in relation to a criminal investigation.

The Black Notice is issued to seek information on unidentified bodies. The Green Notice is for providing warning about a person's criminal activities, where the person is considered to be a possible threat to public safety.

The Orange Notice warns of an event, a person, an object or a process representing a serious and imminent threat to public safety; while Purple Notice seeks or provides information on modus operandi, objects, devices and concealment methods used by criminals.

Interpol's United Nations Security Council Special Notice is issued for entities and individuals who are the targets of UN Security Council Sanctions Committees.