Interpol said the Silver Notice is being rolled out in a pilot phase involving 52 countries and territories. - Photo: ST
SINGAPORE: Global police organisation Interpol has launched a new notice to assist law enforcement agencies in tracking down assets hidden overseas by individuals and groups involved in criminal activities.
In a statement on Friday (Jan 10), Interpol said the Silver Notice is being rolled out in a pilot phase involving 52 countries and territories, including Singapore, and will run until at least November 2025.
The Italian authorities have requested the first Silver Notice, seeking information on the more than €500 million (S$703 million) worth of assets belonging to a senior member of the mafia.
It was requested by investigators from the Guardia di Finanza of the Italian city of Palermo, and relates to the search for information on the presence of assets mainly in Asia and South America linked to worldwide money laundering activities.
Law enforcement agencies can also request assistance through Silver Diffusions, which are informal requests for cooperation sent directly by them to select countries.
Interpol said that with the Silver Notice and Diffusions, law enforcement agencies can request information on assets linked to criminal activities such as fraud, corruption, drug trafficking, environmental crime and other serious offences.
“It will facilitate locating, identifying, and obtaining information about laundered assets including properties, vehicles, financial accounts and businesses,” said Interpol.
It added that the law enforcement agencies may subsequently use the information they collect as a basis for bilateral engagement subject to national laws, including requests for seizure, confiscation or recovery of assets.
Interpol currently has multiple colour-coded notices that enable countries to share alerts as well as requests for information worldwide.
Its Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action.
There are about 80 wanted people on the Interpol Red Notice list with ties to Singapore, including about 40 who are Singaporeans, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said in a written parliamentary reply on Jan 7.
Other Interpol notices include a Yellow Notice to aid in locating missing people, often minors, or to help identify people who are unable to identify themselves.
There is also a Blue Notice, which allows law enforcement agencies to collect additional information about a person’s identity, location or activities in relation to a criminal investigation.
On the new Silver Notice, Interpol’s secretary-general Valdecy Urquiza said that by targeting their financial gains, the international crime-fighting organisation is working to disrupt criminal networks and reduce their harmful impact on communities worldwide.
“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,” he added.
Interpol said only the agencies from the 52 participating member countries and territories will be able to request the issuance of a Silver Notice or Diffusion during the pilot phase.
Like any other notice or diffusion, Interpol said the request will be made by the national central bureau of each participating member country.
These national central bureaus will coordinate follow-up action with other countries when assets are positively identified.
Regardless of their participation in the pilot, Interpol said all of its 196 member countries will receive Silver Notices.
“All countries are encouraged to act on Silver Notices or Diffusions they receive to trace criminal assets,” it added.
Speaking to The Straits Times, Nick Court, assistant director of strategy and capabilities development at Interpol’s financial crime and anti-corruption centre, said law enforcement agencies face a serious challenge in locating the assets dispersed by criminals.
There is also technology now to allow for money and assets to be moved overseas at the click of a button.
“If a criminal has dissipated their assets to a different country, and you don’t know which one, we’re trying to fill that gap by helping out member countries to find out where those assets are,” said Court.
He added that the Silver Notice could complement the efforts of existing networks such as financial intelligence units and asset recovery inter-agency networks.
When asked about the incentives for countries to act on a Silver Notice, Court compared it with the reasons for countries responding to a Red Notice that informs them that there is a fugitive in their jurisdiction.
He said: “Some of (the reasons) will be that they don’t want that person in the country... and that they see the importance of mutual cooperation on the basis that if they act quickly to help another country today, that country will be more likely to help them tomorrow.
“I don’t see any difference with this.” - The Straits Times/ANN
