Interpol issues first Silver Notice for India to track ₹15 crore visa fraud accused

Interpol has issued its first-ever Silver Notice at India’s request to track Shubham Shokeen, a former official at the French Embassy in Delhi, who is wanted in a visa fraud case.

The Silver Notice is a newly introduced mechanism by Interpol aimed at tracing illicit assets across international borders.

Launched in January this year as part of a pilot initiative, the system was initially rolled out following a proposal by Italy. India is among 51 countries participating in the trial phase, which will run until November.

Under the pilot program, each participating nation can issue up to nine Silver Notices.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Silver notices and Diffusions allow Interpol member countries to seek information about assets linked to criminal activities, including fraud, corruption, narcotics trafficking, and environmental crimes.

The goal is to help identify and locate laundered assets such as real estate, vehicles, bank accounts, and business interests.

The CBI, which is India’s nodal agency for Interpol cooperation, said, "Silver notices and diffusions enable member countries to request information about assets connected to criminal activities, including fraud, corruption, drug trafficking, and environmental offenses."

The agency also noted that this system facilitates international collaboration for asset seizure and confiscation based on domestic legal provisions.

Interpol uses nine color-coded notices to serve various investigative purposes, such as red notices for detaining fugitives, blue for gathering additional information, yellow for missing persons, and black for identifying unknown bodies.

The CBI confirmed that it has so far secured two Silver notices. The first, issued on May 23, targets Shokeen, who held the post of Personnel Visas and Local Law Officer at the French Embassy.

He is accused of collecting illegal payments ranging from "₹15,00,000 to ₹45,00,000" per applicant between September 2019 and May 2022 in exchange for facilitating Schengen visas.

Investigators allege that Shokeen used the money to purchase properties worth 7,760,500 dirhams, amounting to "₹15,73,51,250" in Dubai.

The second Silver Notice, issued on May 26, was against Amit Madanlal Lakhanpal, who is under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate.

Lakhanpal is alleged to have floated an unrecognized cryptocurrency called MTC, through which he collected "₹113.10 crore" from investors.

He is accused of misappropriating the funds and falsely claiming ties with the Ministry of Finance.

Prior to issuing the Silver notice, the CBI had already obtained a Blue notice to help locate Shokeen. All Interpol-related requests from Indian law enforcement agencies are routed through the CBI.

Additional Silver notice requests have also been submitted by India in connection with other ongoing investigations led by the CBI, Enforcement Directorate, and Narcotics Control Bureau.