Angelika Hellweger of Rahman Ravelli explains the agency's use of its pilot scheme for asset tracing.
Interpol has made the first ever use of its Silver Notice scheme for employing international cooperation to trace and recover the proceeds of crime.
The agency has said a Silver Notice was issued this month at the request of Italy's financial police, which is seeking information about assets belonging to a senior organised crime figure.
The Silver Notice pilot programme currently covers 52 countries, including the UK. It allows participating countries to seek information about assets linked to a person's criminal activities. The programme is designed to help investigating agencies locate and obtain information about assets such as bank accounts, property, vehicles and businesses, which can then be used to request seizures or confiscations.
Interpol expects the pilot programme to last until November. It will review each notice to ensure it complies with Interpol rules. Silver Notices can only be issued in relation to crimes that carry a sentence of more than four years' imprisonment in the country requesting the notice. But there is no minimum limit for the value of the assets being sought by those seeking the notice.
During the pilot programme, Silver Notices will only be issued against people. They cannot be issued against companies, and no more than 500 notices can be issued.
The programme will work alongside Diffusion; an arrangement through which an Interpol member state alerts law enforcement authorities in other Interpol member countries that it is seeking the arrest of a specific person. Interpol also has Red Notices, which are issued by Interpol itself at the request of a member state.
Some commentators believe the Silver Notice system could be a useful weapon in the battle against serious crime and the targeting of the wealth it generates. But there have been examples of Interpol Red Notices being used by some states to target political opponents, unpopular officials and dissidents. There is the risk of this situation being repeated with Silver Notices. It is vitally important, therefore, that Interpol ensures its review of all Silver Notices is thorough enough to ensure they cannot be abused for political reasons.
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