Officials accused of trying to sabotage Interpol’s Red Notice system to tip off international fugitives

A multinational operation by Interpol and the FBI cracked down on attempts in Moldova to sabotage one of the international police agency’s main tools, the Red warning system, officials said Tuesday. Four people were detained in the Eastern European country.

Agence France-Presse reports that all four were employees of the Ministry of Interior in Moldova.

The joint operation, which also involved cooperation with French and British authorities, revealed an international criminal organization with links to individuals in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus suspected of cyber crimes, Moldova’s anti-corruption chief said.

The suspected individuals “paid intermediaries and public figures in Moldova to inform wanted criminals about (their) Red Alert status,” anti-corruption chief Veronica Dragalin told reporters.

The warning signals people considered fugitives for law enforcement around the world and is one of Interpol’s most important tools. The investigation led to the detention of four people for 72 hours on suspicion of interfering with warnings, Dragalin said.

The scheme aimed for people subject to Red Notices to “obtain asylum or refugee status” in Moldova and other countries “with the aim of blocking and eliminating” the notices by bribing public officials, she added.

The sums of money involved, she said, run into several million dollars.

Security forces seized digital devices, documents and other objects for analysis, French financial crimes prosecutor Jean-François Bohnert said in a statement.

Interpol said The operation by the international policing agency, based in Lyon, France, followed the detection of attempts to “block and erase” the notices, which flag people considered fugitives to authorities around the world.

Moldova opened an investigation on April 2, after receiving information from France’s National Financial Prosecutor’s Office, and subsequently requested assistance from the FBI.

“We are committed to combating high-level corruption in all its forms, especially those schemes that put criminal investigations at risk around the world,” Dragalin said.

A Interpol statement said the agency has taken steps to prevent further “misuse of its systems.”

“Our robust monitoring systems have identified suspicious activity,” said Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock. “We took immediate action, including reporting the issue to law enforcement authorities in our host country, France.”

Stock highlighted the large number of individuals subject to Red Notices – more than 70,000 people – but did not elaborate on the attempted sabotage.

When contacted by the Associated Press, Interpol said that because it was a Franco-Moldovan investigation, it would not be appropriate for the agency to elaborate on an ongoing investigation.

“60 Minutes” reported Earlier this year, several of Interpol’s 196 member countries abused red notices, using trumped-up charges to try to locate, detain and extradite people they wanted to get their hands on, such as political dissidents or innocent people who had angered powerful officials. While each red notice is vetted to ensure it does not violate rules prohibiting the use of Interpol for political, religious or racial persecution, the check is not foolproof.

AFP contributed to this report.