Interpol introduces Silver Notice: A new alert to track laundered assets

India is a participant in the pilot run of the Silver Notice which is expected to run till November 2025

The International Criminal Police Organisation, or Interpol, has introduced its first ‘Silver Notice’, aimed at tracing assets laundered across international borders. This initiative, part of a pilot project involving 52 countries, including India, was launched following a request from Italy to locate the assets of a senior mafia member.

 

What is the Silver Notice?

The Silver Notice is the latest addition to Interpol’s suite of colour-coded alerts, designed to help countries track and retrieve criminally obtained assets. This notice allows participating nations to request information on assets linked to criminal activities such as fraud, corruption, drug trafficking, and environmental crimes.

 

 

The project will run until at least November 2025, with 500 notices available for distribution among the participating countries. 

Interpol's colour-coded alerts 

 

How does it work?

Countries can use the Silver Notice to request information on various assets, including properties, vehicles, financial accounts, and businesses connected to criminal activities. The notice facilitates the identification and location of these assets, enabling further legal action, such as seizure or confiscation, subject to national laws.

 

What is India’s role in this?

India is a participant in this pilot project and stands to benefit significantly. With numerous fugitive economic offenders and a substantial amount of unaccounted black money transferred offshore, the Silver Notice could be instrumental in tracing and recovering these assets.

 

An Indian official highlighted the potential impact of this tool to news agency PTI, stating that it could help locate assets that criminals have moved to tax havens, believing to be untouchable.

 

Which countries joined the pilot?

Aside from India, other countries include: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Burundi, China, Colombia, Congo, Ecuador, Estonia, France, Gabon, Georgia, Gibraltar (UK), Guinea, Hungary, Iraq, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Malawi, Malta, Moldova, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Trinidad & Tobago, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

 

How Interpol’s plans to combat crime

Interpol’s introduction of the Silver Notice is part of its broader effort to combat transnational organised crime by targeting the financial gains of criminal networks.

 

Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza emphasised the importance of disrupting, stating, “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.”

 

Before a Silver Notice is issued, the Interpol General Secretariat will review it to ensure compliance with the organisation’s rules, including preventing its misuse for political purposes. During the pilot phase, information about these notices will not be publicly available on Interpol’s website.