Thousands of documents submitted by Interpol whistleblower have revealed for the first time the extent to which Russia is using the international law enforcement agency to track down its critics abroad, the BBC reports.
Information provided to the BBC World Service and the French investigative media outlet Disclose reveals that Russia is using Interpol’s wanted lists to seek the arrest of political opponents, businessmen and journalists on the basis of alleged crimes. Analysis of the data shows that over the past decade, Interpol’s internal complaints department has received more complaints about Russia than about any other country. In addition, complaints have led to the cancellation of more cases than those initiated by any other country.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, additional checks were introduced at Interpol at Moscow’s request to prevent the potential use of the organization’s resources for improper purposes and the persecution of individuals linked to the war in Ukraine. However, the leaked documents show that this has not prevented Russia from using Interpol for its own interests, and the whistleblower reported that in 2025 the organization quietly abandoned these measures.
Interpol responded to the accusations, saying that thanks to the organization’s operations, thousands of dangerous criminals are detained every year, and in recent years a number of systems have been introduced that allow for the avoidance of violations of the law. The organization is also aware of the impact that being included on the wanted list can have on people.
Russian businessman Igor Pestrikov is one of those whose name appears in the leaked documents.
Interpol is not an international police force, but the organization helps law enforcement agencies in various countries. A red notice is a notification that is received by all 196 member states of the organization, and it means that a specific person must be found and arrested. A red notice works in a similar way, but it is sent only to certain countries. After leaving Russia in June 2022 and seeking asylum in France, Pestrikov learned that a red notice had been issued for him. He believed that there were two options – to go to the police and declare that he was on the Interpol wanted list, or to become lower than the grass. This meant that he could not rent a house and his bank accounts were blocked. The businessman said that it was a constant tension, and he always felt like he had to look over his shoulder. His daughter and her mother moved to another country for safety.
Pestrikov in Russia was a major shareholder in large metal processing companies. These were companies privatized in the 1990s, the largest of which was the Solikamsk Magnesium Plant. Before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the government allegedly pressured the company to stop exporting products and supply only the Russian market. Pestrikov believes that this happened in order to use his company’s products in the military industry. The businessman emphasized that it was not only a question of selling the products at a lower price and to those chosen by the government, but also of moral issues – no one wanted to be involved even indirectly in the production of deadly weapons. He believes that the company’s transfer to state ownership and his own indictment for financial crimes were led by his refusal to cooperate, as well as by the fact that his then-spouse was Ukrainian.
After fleeing to France, Pestrikov worried that the Kremlin might pursue him there as well, so he contacted Interpol and learned of the red notice that had been issued against him. He decided to appeal it through the organization’s independent internal watchdog, the CCF, and argued that Russia’s request was politically motivated. After Pestrikov had been on the wanted list for two years,
the CCF decided that his case was largely politically motivated, and Interpol dropped his arrest request.
Interpol provides limited information on illegal arrest requests, and since 2018 has not disclosed which countries it receives complaints about and carries out checks. The lack of transparency makes it difficult to assess the scale of the problem, and the leaked documents provide the first full picture.
The leaked data also includes complaints submitted to the CCF. Although the information is not complete, it covers a range of countries, and in cases where the country requesting the arrest of a person or persons is specified, more complaints are made against Russia, and this has been the case for the past 11 years. Available information suggests that at least 700 Russian wanted persons have filed complaints with the CCF, and in at least 400 cases their cases have been dismissed as unfounded.
Ben Keith, a British lawyer who has represented many clients who have wanted their names removed from Interpol lists, said that Russia has historically been one of the main users of red notices for its own interests. He believes that Interpol has a problem with Russia, and the organization is not doing enough to prevent abuses.
International lawyer Yuriy Nemets, who specializes in Interpol issues and extradition cases, agrees that
the organization’s additional verification of Russian requests has not yielded results.
He is aware of a number of cases in which Russians who opposed the war have faced persecution and been placed on Interpol’s database for financial or other “everyday” crimes.
The BBC has uncovered another way in which Interpol’s resources are being misused. Leaked internal communications show how agents in Moscow sent messages to agents in Abu Dhabi, saying that Interpol had refused to issue a wanted notice but that the person’s whereabouts needed to be ascertained. This is against Interpol’s guidelines.
The leaks also include a story about journalist Armen Aramyan. He left Russia after being charged with inciting minors to engage in dangerous activities for reporting on student protests in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Aramyan went to Armenia and then to Germany. The Russian message bypassed the formal red alert or red notice to the authorities in both countries and requested any useful information about Aramyan. The message was sent in February 2023, when restrictions were imposed on Russia and every message was checked, so it is not certain that it was delivered. The whistleblower believes that this happened.
Aramyan was shocked by the message, but indicated that he was not surprised,
and said that he did not think that Germany had given the Russians his address, phone number or extradited him, but that Moscow would benefit from every bit of information it could get.
The BBC has also obtained access to internal communications that show that senior Interpol officials are concerned about Russian activities.
Despite the additional restrictions, it appears that in 2024 around 90% of the requests made by Russia passed initial checks. At the same time, the CCF has withdrawn about half of the requests it received complaints about, raising questions about whether its checks were rigorous enough.
In 2024, Moscow even tried to get the International Criminal Court judges and prosecutor who were involved in the decision to issue an arrest warrant for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to be put on the wanted list. At the time, the Russian efforts were rejected.
Both Nemets and Keith believe Interpol could do more to prevent misuse of its systems.
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