A multinational operation in Moldova has uncovered an international criminal organization with links to people from Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine suspected of undermining an Interpol system for identifying fugitives, Moldovan authorities and Interpol said on June 4.
The operation, disclosed by Interpol and the Moldovan Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, was part of a crackdown on attempts to interfere with the Red Notice system, which is used by countries to locate fugitives and request a provisional arrest.
Moldovan authorities conducted 36 searches on June 3 with the assistance of French officers and the FBI, officials said in press releases issued by the Moldovan Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, and Interpol, which runs the Red Notice system. Prosecutors seized devices including mobile phones, laptops, and computers.
The operation led to the investigation of five people suspected of paying intermediaries and public figures in Moldova to inform wanted criminals of their Red Notice status, the head of Moldova's Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, Veronica Dragalin, said in a June 4 press conference.
The scheme sought to have people subject to Red Notices obtain asylum or refugee status in Moldova and other countries with the aim of blocking and deleting the notices by bribing officials with a total of several million dollars, Dragalin said.
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office said in a separate press release that a government official in the State Fiscal Service was detained on suspicion of accepting bribes from a subordinate, but it was not clear that this was related to the disclosure of the Red Notice investigation.
Interpol said the operation followed the detection of attempts to “block and delete” the notices within the Interpol system. Law enforcement authorities noted that the criminal organization is suspected of cybercrime but did not elaborate.
Moldova opened the investigation on April 2 after receiving information from France’s National Financial Prosecutor’s Office, and subsequently requested the assistance of the FBI. Later, the Moldovan prosecutors received information from British authorities regarding the bribes.
“We are committed to fighting high-level corruption in all of its forms, particularly those schemes that put in jeopardy criminal investigations worldwide,” Dragalin said.
A statement from Interpol said the agency had taken steps to prevent further “misuse of its systems.”
“Our robust monitoring systems identified suspicious activity,” said Interpol Security General Jürgen Stock. “We took immediate action, including reporting the issue to law enforcement authorities in our host country France.”
Stock highlighted the vast number of individuals subject to Red Notices -- over 70,000 people -- but did not elaborate on the number of people involved in the scheme.