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The International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) has issued its first ever Silver Notice, in an effort to strengthen asset recovery activities across member states.
The notice was issued last week at the request of Italian authorities that are seeking information on assets belonging to a senior member of the mafia.
The Silver Notice aims to help trace and recover criminal assets, combat transnational organised crime and enhance international police cooperation.
It is the newest addition to Interpol’s suite of colour-coded notices and diffusions, which enable countries to share alerts and requests for information worldwide.
The Silver category has been launched as part of a pilot programme involving 52 countries and territories, which will run at least until November 2025.
Using Silver Notices and Diffusions, Interpol members can request information on assets linked to a person’s criminal activities, such as fraud, corruption, drug trafficking and other serious offences.
Silver Notices and Diffusions will help to locate, identify and obtain information about laundered assets connected to the person of interest, including properties, vehicles, financial accounts and businesses.
Members may subsequently use the information obtained through Silver Notices and Diffusions as a basis for bilateral engagement.
This could include bilateral requests for seizure, confiscation or recovery of assets, subject to national laws.
Notices of any colour are shared with all 196 member countries, whereas diffusions are shared only with selected relevant countries.
Italy to lead pilot scheme
In 2023, at Interpol’s 91st General Assembly, the development and implementation of the Silver Notice and Diffusion pilot was outlined in Resolution GA-2023-91-RES-11.
The resolution tasked the Expert Working Group on Asset Tracing and Recovery with designing the pilot’s scope, format, conditions and safeguarding measures.
The General Secretariat will review every Silver Notice and Diffusion for compliance with the Interpol’s rules prior to its publication or circulation.
However, unlike other Interpol’s notices, extracts of Silver Notices will not be published on Interpol’s website (at least for the duration of the pilot).
Participating countries will be able to collectively request up to 500 Silver Notices and Diffusions, with the total divided equally among all participating countries.
The Expert Working Group must provide feedback and guidance to the General Secretariat during the implementation of the pilot.
It must also submit to the General Assembly at its 93rd session, in November 2025, a report detailing the results of the pilot and any recommendations for the future use of the silver category.
Raffaele Grassi, deputy director-general of public security and director of the Italian Criminal Police, said that Italy is proud to be leading the pilot as the current chair of the Expert Working Group.
“We are confident the Silver Notice and Diffusion will bring positive results, encouraging global law enforcement to enhance asset recovery efforts,” he said.
“It is of particular significance that this inaugural notice has been issued at the request of investigators from the Guardia di Finanza in Palermo — a city synonymous with the Transnational Organized Crime Convention and its emphasis on the 'follow-the-money' principle.”
More tools to prosecute cross-border money laundering
The creation of Silver Notices and Diffusions aligns with states’ efforts to strengthen their capabilities to prosecute cross-border money laundering cases.
Many of the countries that are taking part in the pilot have made this an explicit priority in their national money laundering risk assessments and strategies.
Singapore, for example, highlighted "international cooperation” as one of the key building blocks of its 2024 National AML Strategy.
As part of the strategy, authorities in Singapore said they will leverage international cooperation and provide “timely and quality assistance to actively tackle ML activities”.
They will also seek to enhance Singapore’s legal framework and processes to improve its ability to provide and request assistance in international criminal cases.
Singapore is currently considering a bill to assist law enforcement in transnational AML cases, and is also considering amendments to its law on mutual assistance in criminal matters.
In November 2024, lawmakers in Australia adopted a landmark bill that aims to bring the country’s AML framework in line with international standards, as outlined by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The AML/CTF Amendment Bill 2024 will significantly expand the number of AML reporting entities in Australia, by including entities such as lawyers, accountants and realtors for the first time.
In its 2024 National Money Laundering Risk Assessment, Australia’s AML regulator expressed concern that Australia is particularly vulnerable to cross-border money laundering activities connected to organised crime groups operating in Asia.
“These include large and highly functional international drug-trafficking organisations that control supply chains into Australia, as well as professional money laundering organisations (MLOs) with a demonstrated capability to launder funds into and out of Australia,” it said.
“Australia’s extensive economic relations and trade with Asian markets also provide legitimate financial pathways that can mask illicit transfers.”
