New Delhi: Terming the recently introduced Interpol 'Silver Notice' a "more effective" tool than the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) for gathering information on illicit assets parked offshore, CBI Director Praveen Sood has said it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's idea, which has now been realised. In an exclusive interaction with PTI, he said Prime Minister Modi had proposed in 2015 a system under the Interpol to trace money laundered offshore, and it has now taken shape as the Silver Notice.
The Notice, aimed at locating illicit assets laundered across borders, is the newest addition to the Interpol's suite of eight colour-coded Notices and Diffusions, which enable countries to share alerts and requests for information worldwide. Conventionally, the information on illicit assets is gathered through MLATs which are treaties between two countries whereby they cooperate to provide and obtain formal assistance in the prevention, suppression, investigation, and prosecution of crime.
Common complaints under MLAT include requests being transferred from one agency to another or one bank to another. Sometimes difficulties arise in obtaining a response because of a large number of requests. India has MLATs with 45 countries, according to data on the Ministry of Home Affairs website.
"From MLAT, the stature has been increased to Interpol notice, which has a higher degree of emphasis than MLAT. The sanctity of this process has increased; now it is through Interpol notices that are more acceptable to member countries. Possibly more information will come," the CBI chief said. He, however, added that MLATs will continue to be an effective tool as they are easier and country-to-country level than Interpol notices which have a wider reach but are sparsely used.
Under the Interpol mechanism, states and central agencies can use the recently introduced Bharatpol to seamlessly send their requests for information through the CBI, which is designated as the National Central Bureau of India for all matters pertaining to the global organisation.
Addressing the Global Focal Conference on Asset Recovery in 2015 hosted by the CBI and Interpol, the Prime Minister had said, "Targeting the proceeds of crime is an important element in this fight against crime. Hence, there is an imperative need to focus our efforts on enhancing international cooperation in the field of Asset Recovery to fight crime, corruption, and terrorism." "The new Interpol Notice could add value to asset tracing investigations and facilitate real-time information sharing in complex cases," Modi had said.
The proposal took concrete form during the 2022 Interpol General Assembly hosted by India, where it was adopted as the first resolution.
The resolution recommended that an expert working group be established to assess various proposals devoted to exchanging financial information and "tracing and recovery of criminal assets, including the 2015 General Assembly resolution to create a new Interpol notice named Silver Notice." Interpol's 91st General Assembly, held in Vienna in 2023, outlined the development and implementation of the Silver Notice and Diffusion pilot through another resolution.
The 2023 resolution tasked the Expert Working Group on Asset Tracing and Recovery, in collaboration with the General Secretariat, with designing the pilot's scope, format, conditions, and safeguard measures. India was part of the expert group, which was led by Italy. A pilot phase of the Silver Notice involving 52 countries and territories was launched on Friday and will run at least until November 2025.
