The Interpol has launched ‘Silver Notice’, the newest addition to the organisation’s list of colour-coded notices and diffusions, as part of a pilot project involving 52 countries and territories. It’s aimed at helping trace and recover criminal assets for combating transnational organised crime through enhanced international police cooperation.
The first-ever notice seeking information on assets related to a key mafia-linked person has been issued on the request of Italy. The pilot project will run at least till November 2025. India is one of the participating countries.
“Through Silver Notices and Diffusions, member countries can request information on assets linked to a person’s criminal activities such as fraud, corruption, drug trafficking, environmental crime and other serious offences. It will facilitate locating, identifying, and obtaining information about laundered assets including properties, vehicles, financial accounts and businesses,” the Interpol said.

Countries can use such inputs for bilateral engagement, including bilateral requests for seizure, confiscation, or recovery of assets, subject to the respective national laws.
“Stripping criminals and their networks of illegal profits is one of the most powerful ways to fight transnational organised crime, especially considering that 99% 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,” Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said in a statement.
The Interpol said in 2023, its 91st General Assembly held in Vienna, Austria had outlined the development and implementation of the Silver Notice and Diffusion pilot through a resolution. The Expert Working Group on Asset Tracing and Recovery, in collaboration with the General Secretariat, was given the task of designing the pilot’s scope, format, conditions, and safeguard measures.
“The General Secretariat will review every Silver Notice and Diffusion for compliance with the Organisation’s rules prior to its publication or circulation. This includes ensuring they are not used for political purposes, in contravention of Article 3 of Interpol’s Constitution. During the pilot phase, extracts of Silver Notices will not be published on Interpol’s website,” it said.
The participating countries during the pilot project will be able to collectively request up to 500 Silver Notices and Silver Diffusions, with the total divided equally amongst all of them.
Red Notice is a request to law enforcement agencies the world over to locate and provisionally arrest a wanted person pending extradition or similar legal action.
The Interpol’s notices and diffusions circulated among its member countries include the Red Notice, a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. The Yellow Notice is for tracking a missing person; Blue Notice for seeking additional information; Black Notice for unidentified bodies; Green Notice for warnings and intelligence; Orange Notice for imminent threats; and Purple Notice for seeking information related to the modus operandi of criminals.
Besides these, in 2005, the Interpol had launched the United Nations Security Council Special Notice for groups and individuals under UN sanctions. “It is issued for individuals and entities that are subject to sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council. Its principal function is to alert national law enforcement authorities that at least one of these forms of sanctions apply — assets freeze [there is no requirement to seize or confiscate assets]; travel ban: preventing an individual from entering or transiting through territories [there is no requirement to arrest or prosecute these individuals]; arms embargo: preventing the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of arms and related materials,” according to the Interpol’s website.
The Special Notice contains identification details of the individual or entity concerned, and explains the related sanctions, thereby assisting law enforcement agencies to take appropriate legal action.
Published – January 13, 2025 06:35 pm IST