HomeInterpol Silver Notice
The Interpol Silver Notice, currently in a pilot phase (the first Silver Notice was published in January 2025), allows member countries to seek information to identify and trace assets linked to criminal activity. If you or your assets are affected, our specialist lawyers can challenge the notice and protect your rights through the CCF.
What is an Interpol Silver Notice?
The Interpol Silver Notice is one of Interpol’s newest notice types, currently in a pilot phase: the pilot was outlined by the INTERPOL General Assembly in 2023, and the first Silver Notice was published on 10 January 2025. Unlike a Red Notice — which targets a person — a Silver Notice targets assets: property, bank accounts, vehicles, businesses, and other valuables suspected of being proceeds of crime.
A Silver Notice enables member states to share intelligence about suspected criminal assets across Interpol’s network of 196 countries. When issued, it:
- Requests information from law enforcement in member countries on assets linked to a person’s criminal activities
- Facilitates cross-border cooperation on asset tracing and recovery
- Can be used by the requesting country as a basis for bilateral requests for seizure, confiscation or recovery, subject to national laws
- Significantly harms the reputation of the individual named, even before any criminal conviction
The first Silver Notice, requested by Italy, sought information on the assets of a senior member of the mafia. During the pilot, extracts of Silver Notices are not published on INTERPOL’s website.
Grounds for Challenging an Interpol Silver Notice
Interpol’s rules apply equally to Silver Notices. The CCF can order correction or deletion of a Silver Notice on the following grounds:
- Political motivation — Article 3 of Interpol’s Constitution prohibits notices that serve political, racial, military or religious purposes
- Lack of proportionality — The alleged offence does not justify international dissemination of sensitive financial data
- Inaccurate data — The assets described are not linked to the named individual or the stated criminal conduct
- Due process violations — The underlying prosecution was conducted without fair trial guarantees
- Human rights grounds — The notice breaches the subject’s right to privacy or property under international human rights law
Our lawyers begin by filing an Access Request with the CCF to obtain the full text of the Silver Notice and the requesting state’s justification. We then build a targeted legal challenge addressing the specific grounds for deletion or correction.
Practical Steps If You Are Subject to a Silver Notice
If you believe a Silver Notice has been issued against you or your assets, act immediately:
- Do not move assets without legal advice — transfers that look like evasion can create additional legal exposure
- Instruct a lawyer to file a CCF Access Request — you have the right to know what Interpol holds about you
- Notify your banks and financial advisors — forewarned institutions can prepare appropriate responses
- Assess extradition risk — a Silver Notice may be accompanied by a Red Notice; where both exist, they should be challenged together
- Seek interim measures — our team can apply to the CCF for urgent provisional action to limit dissemination while the main challenge proceeds
Contact Intercollegium at +357 96 447475 for a confidential assessment of your Silver Notice exposure and a clear legal strategy to protect your assets and reputation.
Which Countries Take Part in the Silver Notice Pilot?
The pilot was launched with 52 participating countries and territories, which can collectively request up to 500 Silver Notices and Silver Diffusions. Participants include, among others, Russia, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and the United Kingdom.
If you have assets in Europe, the UK or Cyprus and you face prosecution in a participating country, an Interpol Silver Notice is a risk worth assessing. Contact our lawyers at +357 96 447475 for a confidential risk assessment.
Silver Notice and Parallel Interpol Red Notice
Where an Interpol Silver Notice is issued alongside a Red Notice, this creates a compound legal threat: the subject faces both a request for provisional arrest pending extradition (Red Notice) and international cooperation for asset freezing and recovery (Silver Notice). In these situations, our lawyers pursue coordinated defence strategies:
- Simultaneous CCF challenges for both the Red Notice and the Silver Notice
- Emergency injunctions in relevant jurisdictions to prevent asset freezing
- Parallel representation in the prosecuting country to challenge the underlying criminal case
- Liaison with financial institutions to prevent account freezes pending the CCF challenge
Contact Intercollegium at +357 96 447475 for an immediate consultation if you face a combined Red and Silver Notice threat.
Who Issues Interpol Silver Notices and Why
Interpol Silver Notices are issued by member countries requesting international cooperation in tracing and recovering assets linked to criminal proceedings — including proceeds of crime, fraud, corruption, or money laundering. During the pilot phase, they are requested by the countries and territories taking part in the pilot.
A Silver Notice does not result in arrest. Its purpose is to locate and preserve assets abroad — bank accounts, real estate, vehicles, company shareholdings — pending formal asset recovery proceedings. However, the requesting country may use information obtained through a Silver Notice as a basis for bilateral requests for seizure, confiscation or recovery in the jurisdictions where assets are located, subject to national laws.
Legal Risks Arising from an Interpol Silver Notice
If a Silver Notice has been issued against you or your assets, the following risks arise:
- Asset freezing: The requesting country may use information obtained through a Silver Notice to seek seizure or confiscation of your assets in the countries where they are located, subject to their national laws.
- Reputation damage: Extracts of Silver Notices are not published on INTERPOL’s website during the pilot, but asset-tracing enquiries may still become known to counterparties and affect business relationships.
- Linkage to criminal proceedings: A Silver Notice implies active criminal proceedings in the requesting state. This can affect immigration status, banking relationships, and professional licences.
- Gateway to Red Notice: A Silver Notice may be accompanied or followed by a Red Notice issued against the same individual.
How to Challenge an Interpol Silver Notice
Like Red Notices, Silver Notices can be challenged through the Interpol Commission for the Control of Files (CCF). Our lawyers file applications demonstrating that the Silver Notice violates Interpol’s Rules — for example, because the underlying criminal proceedings are politically motivated, the evidence is insufficient, or the notice constitutes an abuse of the international police cooperation system.
At the same time, we advise on parallel strategies: challenging freezing orders in local courts, demonstrating the legitimate origin of assets, and negotiating with the requesting state where appropriate.
Contact us for a free, confidential consultation: +357 96 447475.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Silver Notice affect my assets even if I have not been charged with a crime?
Yes. Silver Notices operate on an intelligence-sharing basis, not a conviction standard. Silver Notices are circulated to law enforcement in member countries, and the requesting country may use the information obtained as a basis for bilateral requests for seizure, confiscation or recovery of assets, subject to national laws. Practical consequences can therefore arise before any court has examined the evidence. Challenging the evidentiary basis through the CCF becomes essential precisely because no judicial oversight exists at the notice-issuance stage.
How long does a CCF challenge to a Silver Notice typically take to resolve?
The statutory time limit for a CCF decision on a correction or deletion request is nine months from the date the request is declared admissible; in practice the whole process from the initial Access Request usually takes longer. Complex cases involving multiple jurisdictions or substantial documentation can extend beyond two years. The timeline includes approximately 3–4 months for the Access Request response, followed by submission of the formal challenge, the requesting state’s reply, and the CCF’s deliberation. The CCF may also decide on provisional measures at any time during the proceedings, providing interim protection while the substantive challenge proceeds.
Will challenging a Silver Notice alert the requesting country to my location or legal strategy?
Filing a CCF challenge does not automatically disclose your current location. The CCF communicates with the requesting state’s National Central Bureau to obtain their position on your challenge, but this exchange concerns the legal grounds rather than your whereabouts. However, the requesting state will learn that you are legally represented and contesting the notice. Strategic timing and careful framing of submissions are important — your legal arguments become visible to the requesting state, so challenges must be structured to avoid revealing information that could assist parallel criminal proceedings or asset recovery efforts.
Can assets frozen due to a Silver Notice be released before the CCF challenge concludes?
Asset freezes are typically imposed by national authorities rather than Interpol directly. Releasing frozen assets requires action in the freezing jurisdiction — either through domestic court applications or negotiation with the relevant financial institution. A pending CCF challenge can support such applications by demonstrating that the underlying notice is contested on legitimate grounds. In certain EU jurisdictions, provisional release of assets is possible where disproportionate hardship is shown. Parallel domestic proceedings in the freezing state, combined with the CCF challenge, often produce faster practical relief than relying on the CCF timeline alone.
What happens to a Silver Notice if the underlying criminal case in the requesting country is dismissed?
Dismissal of the underlying case does not automatically delete the Silver Notice. The requesting state’s National Central Bureau must formally request withdrawal, which often requires active follow-up. In practice, notices linked to closed cases remain in Interpol’s database for months or years due to administrative delays. If the requesting state fails to act, a CCF challenge becomes necessary to compel deletion. Documentary proof of the dismissal — certified court orders, prosecutorial withdrawal notices — significantly strengthens the challenge and can accelerate the CCF’s decision to order removal.
