Silver Notices revisited: INTERPOL considers new forms of recovering criminal assets

INTERPOL has decided to establish an Expert Working Group to assess various proposals devoted to the exchange of financial information and to the tracing and recovery of criminal assets. This group will consider various proposals including reviving the concept of a “Silver Notice” devoted to the tracing and recovery of criminal assets.

The idea of a Silver Notice was first proposed at the 84^th INTERPOL General Assembly in Kigali in 2015. This notice was intended to allow INTERPOL to “track the offenders, terrorist financers and others who are using virtual currencies like bitcoin to move and store illicit funds, out of the reach of law enforcement and other authorities”. The General Secretariat was asked to create a template of the new notice, to draft general specifications, and to produce by 2016 a precise cost estimate for the development and implementation of the new tool. However, the idea was not implemented at the time and has remained dormant until now.

INTERPOL has recently taken a greater interest in acting on financial crime and corruption, instituting the INTERPOL Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre (IFCACC) in January 2022. At the 90^th General Assembly in New Delhi this year further resolutions were passed in this area, including the formation of the Expert Working Group.

Prefect Vittorio Rizzi, who led the Italian delegation at the 90^th General Assembly said “As a police force we have a responsibility to the future of the young generation and we must fight together against organized crime which endangers a healthy economy, honest entrepreneurs and the safety of our communities.” Australian authorities have also backed the creation of the new notice, with Australian Federal Police commissioner Reece Kershaw stating that “Crime is borderless and so is the illicit money that underpins criminality … targeting the wealth of criminals is a key strategy of the AFP“.

The Expert Working Group will submit a report on the outcome of its activity and a proposal for adoption at the 91^st General Assembly in Vienna next year.