INTERPOL’s got a shiny new notice for its member countries. The organization states that the Silver Notice, first released in January 2025, will serve the purposes of:
- Helping to trace and recover criminal assets, combat organized crime and enhance international police cooperation.
- Allowing member countries to request information on assets linked to a person’s criminal activities such as fraud, corruption, drug trafficking, environmental crime, and other serious offenses.
- Aiding in the location and obtaining information about laundered assets including properties, vehicles, financial accounts and businesses.
- Serving as a basis for requests for seizure, confiscation, or recovery of assets, subject to national laws.
INTERPOL assures that the General Secretariat will review every Silver Notice and Diffusion for compliance with the Organization’s rules prior to its publication or circulation. This includes ensuring they are not used for political purposes, in violation of Article 3 of INTERPOL’s Constitution.
INTERPOL’s integration of Silver Notices may aid the organization in fighting the growing use of cryptocurrencies for illicit activities. Cryptocurrency-related crime is currently one of the most rapidly growing means of hiding illegal assets, with industry experts citing the value of illicit activity in 2024 at $40.9 billion.
Our next post will focus on INTERPOL member countries’ attempts to curb crypto-related illicit activities, and how they contrast the U.S., which is reversing its efforts to combat crypto-related crime by disbanding its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team.
As always, thoughts and comments are welcomed.