New Delhi: The likes of underworld fugitive Dawood Ibrahim and other Indians, who have acquired properties abroad with the help of money accrued from criminal activities who will now be under scanner of the investigating agencies.
In a first of its kind initiative, the CBI is preparing a list of such individuals, which would be shared with the Interpol.
Sources said the list would be sent to the Interpol for issuance of a “Silver Notice”, seeking confiscation of such overseas properties. They stressed that this will strengthen better cooperation and coordination among the member countries of the Interpol.
“We have instructed our (CBI) all zones and branches to prepare the list at the earliest. After that, the list will be scrutinised by senior officials and a final list will be sent to the Interpol for confiscation of properties acquired abroad by the convicts according to Indian laws, including Dawood Ibrahim, said a high-ranking official of the agency. Dawood has been convicted of organising the 1993 Mumbai blasts, which killed over 200 people and injured hundreds others. The Interpol has introduced a new system of international alert titled “Silver Notice” on a pilot basis to assist the member countries in locating and seizing assets acquired through criminal means, said an official.
“The notice is expected to promote international action and enhance the speed of recovery of assets in foreign jurisdiction,” said the official. Bearing in mind that over the past few years only 3 to 5 per cent of global illicit financial flows have been seized and confiscated, the need for improved international cooperation mechanisms on asset tracing and recovery, notably through better information sharing and the creation of new legal and operational tools, the new notice has been introduced by the Interpol.
