Angelika Hellweger of Rahman Ravelli explains how the Silver Notice system is used to aid the recovery of the proceeds of crime.
The UK's first Interpol Silver Notice has been published in an attempt to recover the assets of a man who carried out an £8.5 million investment fraud.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) announced that Anopkumar Maudhoo has been made subject to the order, which allows countries that are members of Interpol to share information to help locate the proceeds of crime.
The Silver Notice will help agencies locate and obtain information on assets held by Maudhoo – who used a number of aliases - including properties, vehicles, financial accounts and businesses. The NCA said inquiries are ongoing in the UK to identify assets that could be used to compensate his victims under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
At London's Southwark Crown Court in March, 45-year-old Maudhoo admitted 76 offences, including fraud, money laundering and possessing false documents, and is due to be sentenced in June. He had orchestrated a large-scale conveyancing fraud which saw him offering investment opportunities involving supposedly repossessed properties and plots of land. But the properties had not been repossessed, and their real owners knew nothing of Maudhoo's fake sales.
Law enforcement agencies have already seized some of Maudhoo's assets, including a speedboat and high-value cars such as Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Aston Martins. The use of a Silver Notice indicates that the authorities believe that he has moved much of his wealth abroad.
Pilot Scheme
The Silver Notice system is part of a pilot scheme involving 52 countries that will run at least until November 2025. The first-ever Interpol Silver Notice was published in January this year, at the request of Italian authorities who were seeking information about assets belonging to a senior member of the Mafia. Countries of interest out of the 52 participating countries have not been officially published in the recent NCA announcement regarding Maudhoo.
The potential value of Silver Notices could be huge. Improving the recovery of the proceeds of crime is essential to tackling financial crime and money laundering. The UK reported that proceeds of crime worth a total of £243.3 million were recovered during the 2023-2024 – yet just £5.8 million of that resulted from international cooperation.
Silver Notices may not be a magic solution for those looking to recover the proceeds of crime and it is important that the system is not misused. But they are definitely a tool that can facilitate successful asset recovery.
Much of their effectiveness may depend on how many countries actually respond to them. A potential downside might be that only 52 countries are participating and yet perpetrators might have assets in jurisdictions that are not participating in the pilot scheme.
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