Russia utilizing Interpol's needed checklist to focus on critics overseas, leak reveals

[ad_1] Cate Brown, Max Hudson and Julia Luft BBC Eye Investigations

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/ea21/live/9d4dc4e0-f87f-11f0-b385-5f48925de19a.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/ea21/live/9d4dc4e0-f87f-11f0-b385-5f48925de19a.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/ea21/live/9d4dc4e0-f87f-11f0-b385-5f48925de19a.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/ea21/live/9d4dc4e0-f87f-11f0-b385-5f48925de19a.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/ea21/live/9d4dc4e0-f87f-11f0-b385-5f48925de19a.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/ea21/live/9d4dc4e0-f87f-11f0-b385-5f48925de19a.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/ea21/live/9d4dc4e0-f87f-11f0-b385-5f48925de19a.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/ea21/live/9d4dc4e0-f87f-11f0-b385-5f48925de19a.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="BBC A man with short, light brown hair and stubble looks at a piece of paper. He is wearing a dark blue, short-sleeved polo shirt. " class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> BBC Businessman Igor Pestrikov discovered Moscow had put him on a needed checklist after he fled Russia in 2022

Hundreds of information offered by a whistleblower at Interpol expose for the primary time the extent of Russia's obvious abuse of the worldwide policing company to focus on its critics overseas.

The information offered to the BBC World Service and French investigative outlet, Disclose, reveals that Russia is utilizing Interpol's needed lists to request the arrest of individuals akin to political opponents, businessmen and journalists, claiming that they've dedicated crimes.

Evaluation of knowledge additionally means that over the previous decade, Interpol's personal unbiased complaints unit has obtained extra complaints about Russia than anybody else - thrice greater than the subsequent highest nation, Turkey.

As well as, it signifies complaints in opposition to Moscow's requests have led to extra circumstances being overturned than for every other nation.

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Interpol launched additional checks on Moscow's exercise "to stop any potential misuse of Interpol's channels in relation to the focusing on of people inside or past the battle in Ukraine".

However the leaked paperwork counsel these didn't forestall Russia abusing the system and the whistleblower advised us some stricter measures had been quietly dropped in 2025.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/c44d/live/65a9a4d0-f7a0-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/c44d/live/65a9a4d0-f7a0-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/c44d/live/65a9a4d0-f7a0-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/c44d/live/65a9a4d0-f7a0-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/c44d/live/65a9a4d0-f7a0-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/c44d/live/65a9a4d0-f7a0-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/c44d/live/65a9a4d0-f7a0-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/c44d/live/65a9a4d0-f7a0-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE/AFP via Getty Images A mosaic on the floor of the Interpol building showing the organisation's logo. It has a map of the world in a circle with the sea depicted in blue and the land in grey. Behind the map is a sword and beneath it are gold weighing scales and the word Interpol." class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE/AFP through Getty Photos Interpol says it has techniques in place to keep away from misuse and these have been strengthened lately

In response, Interpol says that yearly, hundreds of the world's most critical criminals are arrested due to its operations and that it has numerous techniques to keep away from misuse which have been strengthened over the previous few years.

It additionally says it's conscious of the potential impression requests for arrest can have on people.

"Once you're hit with a crimson discover, your life adjustments utterly," says Igor Pestrikov, a Russian businessman, whose title seems within the leaked information.

Interpol is just not a worldwide police pressure itself, however helps police the world over to co-operate.

A crimson discover is an alert to all of its 196 member international locations, asking them to find and arrest an individual. A crimson diffusion is an identical request however is just despatched to particular person international locations.

Pestrikov discovered he was named in a crimson diffusion after he fled Russia in June 2022 - 4 months after the invasion of Ukraine - and utilized for asylum in France.

He felt he had two choices: "Go to the police and say, 'I am within the Interpol system,'" and danger arrest or lie low. This may increasingly imply "you'll be able to't lease an residence, your financial institution accounts get blocked", which is what occurred to him, he says.

"It is fixed nerves, on a regular basis," he provides, explaining he was all the time wanting over his shoulder. For security, his daughter and her mom moved to a different nation. The police can "break into your own home at any time… that is why you are like a cornered rat", he says.

"It is the stress, the nerves, the strain, the lawlessness inflicted on you," that breaks households aside, he provides.

Pestrikov had been a significant shareholder in giant metals firms in Russia that had been privatised within the Nineties, most notably Solikamsk Magnesium Plant.

Within the months main as much as the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, he says authorities ministers pressured him to cease promoting his merchandise overseas and solely provide the Russian market. He believed this may imply his merchandise could possibly be used to make parts for army {hardware}, akin to fighter jets and tanks.

He says it wasn't simply that he was in opposition to "having to promote less expensive and to whoever the ministries advised me to" however that "it was an ethical situation as effectively... no-one needed to become involved even not directly within the manufacturing of one thing used to kill individuals".

Pestrikov believes his refusal to conform and the actual fact his spouse on the time was Ukrainian led to his firms being nationalised and to Russia investigating him for monetary crimes.

After he fled to France, he was frightened that the Kremlin may attempt to goal him there, so he contacted Interpol and was advised in regards to the crimson diffusion request, which had handed the company's checks.

Pestrikov determined to problem it by means of Interpol's inner, unbiased watchdog, the Fee for the Management of Interpol's Recordsdata (CCF), arguing that Russia's request was politically motivated.

Interpol's structure expressly states that the organisation can't be used "to undertake any intervention or actions of a political, army, non secular or racial character".

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/2d27/live/4ba93200-f87f-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/2d27/live/4ba93200-f87f-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/2d27/live/4ba93200-f87f-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/2d27/live/4ba93200-f87f-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/2d27/live/4ba93200-f87f-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/2d27/live/4ba93200-f87f-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/2d27/live/4ba93200-f87f-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/2d27/live/4ba93200-f87f-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images A firefighter is standing on a ladder next to a light grey multi-storey building which has white smoke pouring out of it. The twisted remains of balconies can been seen and there is no glass in many of the window frames. " class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> ARIS MESSINIS/AFP through Getty Photos Pestrikov fled Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine started - one of many first cities to be attacked was Chuguiv in japanese Ukraine

After Pestrikov had spent virtually two years on the needed checklist, the CCF dominated that his case was predominantly political. He confirmed us CCF paperwork that stated the knowledge Russia had offered was "generic and formulaic" and there had been an "insufficient rationalization" of the alleged crime. Interpol cancelled the request for Pestrikov's detention.

Interpol solely releases very fundamental information about illegitimate requests for arrests and since 2018 has not revealed which international locations are the topic of complaints and inquiries. This lack of transparency makes it troublesome to evaluate the size of the issue, however for the primary time, the leaked paperwork reveal a a lot fuller image.

One batch of information shared with the BBC accommodates a listing of complaints despatched to the CCF.

The information is just not full, but it surely covers a broad vary of nations, and the place the nation requesting an arrest is listed, there are extra complaints about Russia than anyplace else - this has been the case for the previous 11 years.

The information additionally present that previously decade, not less than 700 individuals who had been needed by Russia complained to the CCF, and not less than 400 of them had their crimson notices or diffusions overturned - that's greater than for every other nation, in response to the information we obtained.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/e501/live/46e7b890-f79e-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/e501/live/46e7b890-f79e-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/e501/live/46e7b890-f79e-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/e501/live/46e7b890-f79e-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/e501/live/46e7b890-f79e-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/e501/live/46e7b890-f79e-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/e501/live/46e7b890-f79e-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/e501/live/46e7b890-f79e-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="A man with thick, curly, dark hair, moustache and beard looks at a piece of paper. He is wearing glasses, a light grey jumper over a light shirt, and light brown trousers. " class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> The information present Russia tried to make use of Interpol's messaging system to get details about journalist Armen Aramyan after he left the nation

"Traditionally it has been Russia who is without doubt one of the most important perpetrators of abusive crimson notices," says British barrister Ben Keith, who has represented many consumers wishing to have their names faraway from Interpol's needed lists.

He thinks Interpol has a specific downside with Russia and that the company's makes an attempt to stop abuse haven't been profitable.

He says that he has "a gradual movement of shoppers who're topic to Russian crimson notices who're both politically related, or usually pro-Ukraine, or alternatively because of company raiding".

Worldwide lawyer Yuriy Nemets, who specialises in Interpol issues and extradition, agrees that Interpol's additional scrutiny of Russia's requests for arrests, launched after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has not proved efficient.

He says he's conscious of numerous circumstances by which Russians against the conflict "have been focused for talking out in opposition to what is going on on and had been charged with monetary… or different odd crimes and put into the database based mostly on that".

"It isn't arduous to sport the system," he provides.

In addition to data on notices and complaints, the Interpol insider additionally offered the BBC with hundreds of messages despatched between particular person international locations through Interpol's messaging system, revealing one other, much less formal path to hint individuals overseas.

One message from Moscow to regulation enforcement brokers in Abu Dhabi defined how Interpol had denied a request for a crimson discover, however that it nonetheless needed assist in tracing the topic's whereabouts. This goes in opposition to Interpol recommendation that members shouldn't use its channels on this means.

The leak additionally accommodates a message about Armen Aramyan, a journalist who had fled Russia after he was convicted of "partaking minors in harmful actions" for reporting on scholar protests that supported the opposition chief Alexei Navalny in January 2021.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/ed2e/live/93f21280-f851-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/ed2e/live/93f21280-f851-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/ed2e/live/93f21280-f851-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/ed2e/live/93f21280-f851-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/ed2e/live/93f21280-f851-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/ed2e/live/93f21280-f851-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/ed2e/live/93f21280-f851-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/ed2e/live/93f21280-f851-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Aleksey Fokin/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images A row of police officers, wearing black uniforms with riot shields, helmets and protective leg gear, stretches across a street in a town centre. " class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Aleksey Fokin/SOPA Photos/LightRocket through Getty Photos Riot police had been deployed when hundreds of individuals throughout Russia protested in opposition to the arrest of opposition chief Alexei Navalny, who died in suspicious circumstances in jail in 2024

Aramyan went to Armenia after which on to Germany. The message from Russia to regulation enforcement entities in each international locations sidestepped the extra formal crimson discover and crimson diffusion course of, and requested for "any helpful data" about Aramyan in addition to his whereabouts.

The message was despatched in February 2023, through the time Russia was below restrictive measures and its messages had been being checked earlier than being despatched. We won't say for certain whether or not the message was delivered, however based mostly on the supply of the information, the whistleblower believes that it was.

When the BBC confirmed Aramyan a duplicate of the message, he stated he was shocked however not shocked.

"I do not suppose they anticipated that Germany [would] ship them my tackle, my telephone quantity, and extradite me, but when they may not less than get some kind of tiny bits of knowledge it will nonetheless be beneficial for them."

The leak accommodates different messages by which a international regulation enforcement company responds to Moscow's request for data. It despatched particulars in regards to the actions of an ally of Navalny, Lyubov Sobol, and high-profile defector Gleb Karakulov. The trade regarding Karakulov occurred after Interpol introduced its extra vetting of Moscow.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/5adf/live/ea789370-f853-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/5adf/live/ea789370-f853-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/5adf/live/ea789370-f853-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/5adf/live/ea789370-f853-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/5adf/live/ea789370-f853-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/5adf/live/ea789370-f853-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/5adf/live/ea789370-f853-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/5adf/live/ea789370-f853-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova sit on opposite sides of a desk. He is on the left, looking at her as she speaks. He is wearing a dark suit and tie, she is wearing a white dress. There is a Russian flag in the background. " class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool through REUTERS One report says Russia requested crimson diffusions on ICC judges - this got here after the courtroom issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Russia's commissioner for youngsters's rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, over Ukraine

The BBC additionally gained entry to inner Interpol reviews from 2024 and 2025 which present ongoing concern round Russia's actions from senior administrators throughout the organisation.

In a single, a senior determine expresses on to Russian delegates "critical considerations" in regards to the nation's "wilful misuse" of Interpol techniques, stating that there have been cases of "flagrant violations" of Interpol guidelines.

Regardless of the additional restrictions on Russia, the reviews present that roughly 90% of Russia's requests had been nonetheless passing preliminary checks in 2024. And but, in the identical interval, the CCF was overturning roughly half of all Russian requests that it obtained complaints about. This raises questions on whether or not the measures had been stringent sufficient.

One report describes how in 2024 Russia tried to position crimson diffusions on judges and a prosecutor on the Worldwide Prison Court docket, after the physique issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and one other authorities official for his or her actions in Ukraine. These requests from Moscow had been rejected.

Even whereas considerations about Russia's misuse of Interpol's techniques had been being expressed contained in the organisation, the reviews additionally present that discussions had been going down in 2024 and 2025 about whether or not to take away extra restrictions on Russian exercise.

This appears to have been settled in Moscow's favour. The whistleblower advised the BBC that in 2025 Interpol quietly dropped some additional measures in opposition to Russia — it isn't clear how far this softening could have gone. Regardless of repeated requests, Interpol stated it was not capable of remark on account of its "strict guidelines on the processing of knowledge".

The BBC was unable to reveal all the small print of the leak to Interpol as doing so might reveal the supply. Nonetheless, when requested in regards to the points raised within the investigation, Interpol stated it was "involved that numerous the accusations appears to return from a misunderstanding of how Interpol and CCF techniques work, or factual errors about information and adjustments inside Interpol's techniques".

"It's unfaithful to say that we prioritise police co-operation over stopping abuse – Interpol follows its structure that expressly forbids using our techniques on data that's of a predominantly political, army, non secular or racial character."

And previously, it has stated it might do extra good to stop crimes by making certain that strains of communication stay open.

We requested Russia's ministry of inner affairs for remark, but it surely didn't reply.

Legal professionals Yuriy Nemets and Ben Keith agree that Interpol ought to do extra to stop misuse of its techniques. "If international locations are discovered to be considerably and persistently abusing crimson notices and diffusions, then they need to be suspended from the system for a time period," says Keith.

In any other case, Igor Pestrikov fears that Russia, "with the push of a button, can enter something, pin any crime on you - this lets them persecute you additional around the globe".