Current:Home > MarketsInterpol and FBI break up a cyber scheme in Moldova to get asylum for wanted criminals -Prime Money Path
Interpol and FBI break up a cyber scheme in Moldova to get asylum for wanted criminals
Poinbank View
Date:2025-04-10 20:46:48
PARIS (AP) — A multinational operation by Interpol and the FBI cracked down on attempts in Moldova to sabotage one of the international police agency’s key tools, the Red Notice system, officials said Tuesday. Four people were detained in the eastern European country.
The joint sting, which also involved cooperation with French and British authorities, uncovered an international criminal organization with ties to individuals in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus suspected of cybercrime, Moldova’s anticorruption chief said.
The suspected individuals “paid intermediaries and public figures in Moldova to inform wanted criminals of (their) Red Notice status,” Veronica Dragalin, the anticorruption chief, told reporter.
The notice flags people deemed fugitives to law enforcement worldwide and is one of Interpol’s most important tools. The investigation led to the detention of four people for 72 hours on suspicion of interfering with the notices, Dragalin said.
The scheme sought to have people subject to Red Notices “obtain asylum or refugee status” in Moldova and other countries “with the aim of blocking and deleting” the notices by bribing public officials, she added.
The sums of money involved, she said, amount to several million dollars (euros).
Interpol said the operation by the international policing agency, headquartered in Lyon, France, followed the detection of attempts to “block and delete” the notices, which flag people deemed fugitives to law enforcement worldwide.
Moldova opened an investigation on April 2, after receiving information from France’s National Financial Prosecutor’s Office, and subsequently requested the assistance of the FBI.
“We are committed to fighting high-level corruption in all of its forms, particularly those schemes that put in jeopardy criminal investigations worldwide,” Dragalin said.
A statement from Interpol said the agency has taken steps to prevent further “misuse of its systems.”
“Our robust monitoring systems identified suspicious activity,” said Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock. “We took immediate action, including reporting the issue to law enforcement authorities in our host country France.”
Stock highlighting the vast number of individuals subject to Red Notices — over 70,000 people — but did not elaborate on the attempted sabotage.
When reached by The Associated Press, Interpol said because it was a Moldovan-French probe, it would not be appropriate for the agency to elaborate on an ongoing investigation.
___
McGrath reported from Sighisoara, Romania.
veryGood! (39)
Related
- North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
- More than 1 in 4 U.S. adults identify as religious nones, new data shows. Here's what this means.
- Robert De Niro Gets Emotional Over Becoming a Dad Again to 9-Month-Old Baby Gia
- Man who killed 3 in English city of Nottingham sentenced to high-security hospital, likely for life
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- US expresses concerns over Sri Lanka’s controversial internet regulation law
- Sofía Vergara Shares Her One Dating Rule After Joe Manganiello Split
- Freed Israeli hostage says she met a Hamas leader in a tunnel, where she was kept in dire conditions
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- Sexual harassment on women’s US Biathlon team leads to SafeSport investigation -- and sanctions
Ranking
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- 2 escaped Arkansas inmates, including murder suspect, still missing after 4 days
- DEI attacks pose threats to medical training, care
- Nevada judge approves signature-gathering stage for petition to put abortion rights on 2024 ballot
- Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
- A list of mass killings in the United States this year
- 14 states are cutting individual income taxes in 2024. Here are where taxpayers are getting a break.
- House investigators scrutinize Rep. Matt Gaetz's defunct federal criminal sex trafficking probe
Recommendation
From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
Michigan Gov. Whitmer calls for increased investments in education in State of the State address
Residents of northern Australia batten down homes, businesses ahead of Tropical Cyclone Kirrily
Why 'I Am Jazz' star Jazz Jennings feels 'happier and healthier' after 70-pound weight loss
Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
Step Inside Pregnant Jessie James Decker’s Nature-Themed Nursery for Baby No. 4
French President Macron arrives in India, where he’ll be chief guest at National Day celebrations
Ice Spice and everything nice: How the Grammys best new artist nominee broke the mold