In a significant step towards tightening the noose on white-collar crime, the Interpol has issued its first Silver notice on India’s request to trace the global assets of Shubham Shokeen, a former French Embassy official accused in a high-value visa fraud case. This notice aims to facilitate the identification and tracking of illicit assets amassed through criminal activities, marking a crucial milestone in India’s crackdown on international financial crime.
India Among Early Users of Interpol’s New Silver Notice
Introduced in January 2024 as part of a pilot initiative, the Silver notice is the latest addition to Interpol’s array of nine colour-coded notices. Designed to track illegal assets across borders, this tool allows countries to request information about properties, vehicles, financial accounts, and businesses tied to criminal proceedings. Italy was the first to trigger the use of the Silver notice under this pilot project, with India now following suit.
On May 23, India requested a Silver notice against Shokeen, who held the position of Personnel Visas and Local Law Officer at the French Embassy in New Delhi. According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Shokeen was involved in a visa scam between September 2019 and May 2022, in which he and others collected bribes ranging from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 45 lakh per applicant for issuing Schengen visas. The illicit proceeds were allegedly used to purchase six properties in Dubai worth over Rs 15 crore.
CBI and Enforcement Directorate Push for Asset Tracing
Shortly after the request against Shokeen, another Silver notice was issued by Interpol on May 26 against Amit Madanlal Lakhanpal, who is wanted by the Enforcement Directorate. Lakhanpal is accused of creating an unregulated cryptocurrency named MTC and duping investors of approximately Rs 113 crore. He allegedly operated without any official license or government approval and failed to return the collected investments.
The Silver notices issued by Interpol will now help India track and possibly recover the proceeds of these crimes. The CBI, which serves as India’s nodal agency for Interpol, has also been coordinating with other enforcement agencies like the ED and the Narcotics Control Bureau to expand the use of this mechanism. These developments underline India’s increasing focus on asset recovery and financial accountability in transnational crime investigations.
