NCA uncovers corrupt officials who helped wanted criminals to circumvent international Red Notice system National Crime Agency

pFour people have been detained in Moldova in relation to a suspected corruption scheme to bribe officials in Moldova and elsewhere for wanted persons to avoid detection by Red Notices published by INTERPOLppINTERPOLs Red Notice system allows requests to go out to law enforcement worldwide to locate and arrest criminals wanted by member statesppSearch warrants were executed by the Anti Corruption Office of Moldova and French authorities with support from the NCA Eurojust the FBI and US Secret ServiceppThe NCA identified evidence of a linked criminal enterprise as part of a separate investigation into an international cyber crime network with ties to Russia Ukraine and BelarusWorking with the USSS FBI and Spanish Guardia Civil the NCA uncovered the identities of key individuals in Moldova who received bribes from members of the network High harm cyber criminals were paying them to find out the status of arrest warrants in to inform their travel plansCyber Crime specialists from the NCA analysed a large number of digital devices and several terabytes of data as part of their investigation and supplied key evidence which supported the day of action today in Moldova where 33 search warrants were executed across the countryPaul Foster NCA Director of Threat Leadership said These corrupt officials abused their positions to provide a service that enabled some of the worlds most serious criminals to attempt to operate travel freely and evade detection by law enforcementAs part of an ongoing joint investigation the NCA uncovered vital evidence which identified key individuals and high harm cyber criminals who were paying them to conduct searches for Red NoticesInternational collaboration is key to disrupting serious and organised crime groups who operate on a global scale This activity conducted jointly with the with Spanish US Moldovan and French authorities shows that together we are having an impactWe are committed to working with our partners to protect the UK from the effects of corruption wherever it is taking place in the worldppPress release issued in conjunction with the following announcementsppMoldovan AntiCorruption Office httpsprocuraturamdanticoruptiecomunicatecomunicatedepresasearchwarrantsexecutedanticorruptionprosecutionofficeppInterpol httpswwwinterpolintNewsandEventsNews2024INTERPOLactionleadstoanticorruptionoperationinMoldova pp4 June 2024ppVisit the NCA timeline on Twitterp