The Hon’ble Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi urged the Interpol to speed up the pace of Red Corner Notices against fugitive offenders in order to eliminate terrorism, corruption, and crime. While addressing the 90th General Assembly of Interpol at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, the Prime Minister flagged global cooperation in dealing with corrupt persons who find safe havens in various parts of the world.
Interpol issues Red Notices to locate fugitives who have fled the country after committing criminal activities and are wanted. A member country has the authority to arrest or deport a person named in an Interpol notice.
“Yes, there are diverse legal and procedural frameworks to deal with them. However, there is a need for the global community to work even faster to eliminate safe havens. There can be no safe havens for the corrupt, terrorists, drug cartels, poaching gangs or organized crime,” Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi said.
The Prime Minister asserted that illicit money is snatched away from the poor by corrupt people for evil uses like terror funding. This dirty money is involved in activities like the smuggling of illegal drugs to destroy young lives and weaken democracies through the sale of illegal arms.
Around 778 Red Notices have been issued by India, with the CBI issuing 205 of them against fugitives such as Dawood Ibrahim and his aide Chhota Shakeel, terrorists such as Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed, and economic offenders such as Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, among others.
The statement of the Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi assumes significance in the light of the comments made by Interpol Secretary General Mr. Jurgan Stock, who listed various limitations of Red Corner Notices.
“A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant, and Interpol cannot force any member country to arrest an individual who is the subject of a Red Notice. It is not for Interpol to judge the merit of a case or a decision taken by national courts – that is a sovereign matter,” Mr. Jurgan Stock had said in a press conference.
He asserted that the role of Interpol is to determine if a request for a Red Notice is in line with their Constitution and rules.
“This means that we cannot accept a request if, for example, it is political, military, religious or racial in character, or is not in accordance with our Rules on the Processing of Data,” he had said.
