Interpol issues Silver Notice on India's request, targets ex-French Embassy officer Shubham Shokeen in visa fraud probe
This new notice aims to locate illicit assets and facilitate international cooperation in asset recovery.
Interpol has issued its first Silver Notice at the request of Indian authorities to help trace the global assets of Shubham Shokeen, a former officer at the French Embassy who is wanted in connection with a major visa fraud case.
What is a Silver notice?
The Silver Notice is a recently introduced, colour-coded notice by Interpol, launched in January this year as part of a pilot project aimed at tracking the movement of illicit assets across the globe. India is among the countries participating in this initiative. Notably, the first Silver Notice was issued at the request of Italy, PTI reported.
Interpol currently issues nine colour-coded notices, each designed for specific purposes in international cooperation The Silver Notice adds a new dimension by focusing on the tracking of illegal financial assets, marking a strategic expansion of Interpol’s tools to combat transnational crime.
Additionally, the Red Notice is used to request the detention of a fugitive, the Blue seeks additional information about a person, the Black is for identifying unknown bodies, and the Yellow helps locate missing persons.
India is among the 51 member countries taking part in the first phase of Silver notice issuance. The pilot project will continue till November. As part of the pilot phase, each country can get nine Silver notices published.
CBI says, ‘countries can request information on assets…’
“Through Silver notices and Diffusions, member countries can request information on assets linked to a person's criminal activities such as fraud, corruption, drug trafficking, environmental crime and other serious offences,” the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said in a statement on Tuesday.
It said the notice will facilitate locating, identifying and obtaining information about laundered assets including properties, vehicles, financial accounts and businesses, CBI said.
Countries may subsequently use such information as a basis for bilateral engagement, including bilateral requests for seizure, confiscation or recovery of assets, subject to national laws, the agency said.
According to the statement, the Interpol has issued two Silver notices in quick succession on the CBI's request. The first request was made on May 23 against Shokeen, Personnel Visas and Local Law Officer in the French Embassy in Delhi, and the second on May 26 against Amit Madanlal Lakhanpal wanted by the Enforcement Directorate.
Who is Shubham Shokeen? What is the visa fraud committed by him?
The CBI has secured India’s first-ever Silver Notice against Shokeen for his involvement in a large-scale visa fraud.
Shubham Shokeen was a former Personnel Visas & Local Law Officer at the French Embassy in New Delhi. Between September 2019 and May 2022, Shokeen conspired with others to facilitate the issuance of Schengen visas in exchange for illegal payments ranging from INR 15 lakh to INR 45 lakh per applicant.
Using the proceeds from this crime, he acquired six immovable properties in Dubai, UAE, valued at approximately 7,760,500 Dirhams (around INR 15.7 crore).
Prior to this, the CBI had also issued a Blue Notice to trace his whereabouts.
As per the FIR lodged by CBI in December 2022, the accused—Shubham Shokeen and Aarti Mandal—served as local law officers (LLOs) in the embassy’s visa department and allegedly conspired with others to carry out the fraud between January 1 and May 6, 2022.
Shokeen and Mandal allegedly facilitated fraudulent Schengen visas for applicants from Punjab and Jammu. The scam involved submitting fake and forged documents, including letters supposedly issued by a private Bengaluru-based company to the Consulate General of France in Bengaluru, requesting entry visas for individuals claiming to join private firms in Port-Le-Havre, France.
Once the visas were granted, the accused allegedly destroyed all related records and files in the visa department to erase any evidence of the fraud.
Second Silver Notice against Amit Madanlal Lakhanpal
The CBI is the nodal body in India for everything related to the Interpol. All the law enforcement agencies in the country route their requests seeking assistance from the Interpol through the CBI.
Lakhanpal, who is wanted by the Enforcement Directorate, allegedly created a cryptocurrency named MTC, which is not recognised in India, for his own financial gains, the statement said.
“He lured investors to invest in MTC and collected funds of about ₹113.10 crore from them. He did so without requisite permission and license from the government or the Reserve Bank of India,” it said.
The CBI said he did not return the invested amount to depositors as promised by him while collecting the funds.
“He embezzled the collected funds and cheated the investors. To lure people, he posed as the authorised representative of the Ministry of Finance,” the agency said.
The statement said India has already submitted requests for publication of Silver notices in cases being investigated by the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate, and the Narcotics Control Bureau.
(With inputs from PTI)
- The Silver Notice is a new tool launched by Interpol to assist in tracking illicit assets globally.
- India has successfully issued its first Silver Notice against Shubham Shokeen for his role in a large-scale visa fraud.
- The implementation of Silver Notices will enhance international cooperation in recovering laundered assets linked to criminal activities.
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