Multinational operation breaks up scheme for sabotaging Interpol red notices
- Alleged plot in Moldova sought to block the actions of Interpol against fugitive criminals
- Joint operation involved crime agencies from France, the United States, Britain and Moldova
Four interior ministry employees were arrested in Moldova in a vast operation to catch government officials sabotaging Interpol red notices.
US and French officers were involved in the operation that targeted 12 suspects and took place in 33 different locations in Moldova, France’s financial crimes prosecutor Jean-Francois Bohnert said in a statement.
The attempt at fraud by mostly Moldovan officials aimed at “obstructing Interpol’s issuance of red notices targeting wanted international fugitives” linked to organised crime, Bohnert said on Tuesday.
“A group of people of different nationalities is suspected of mounting a corruption scheme allowing wanted people to block or delete red notices targeting them, by paying bribes to public agents, especially in Moldova,” he added.
Those bribes amounted to “several million dollars”, Bohnert said.
