HomeDeletion of Data from INTERPOL’s Files: A Successful Case Concerning Fraud Allegations
The Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files (CCF) reviewed a request from an applicant seeking the deletion of data concerning him held in INTERPOL’s files. The applicant was the subject of a Red Notice issued at the request of a national central bureau of a member country, based on allegations of aggravated fraud and criminal association.
Background of the Case
The applicant served as a director of a company involved in transactions related to aviation equipment. According to the allegations, the company’s management solicited investors by promising a lucrative business opportunity with high returns, but subsequently failed to fulfill its contractual obligations to repay the funds.
The applicant maintained that the matter was purely commercial in nature and amounted to a civil dispute over contractual performance, initiated by a business counterpart as leverage in a parallel civil proceeding. He argued that:
- the case was commercial rather than criminal in nature;
- the file lacked a clear description of his personal criminal involvement;
- the requirement that data be of interest for international police cooperation was not met;
- the proceedings failed to respect principles of human rights and due process.
Position of the National Bureau
The national bureau that had requested the notice confirmed the validity of the criminal proceedings and the arrest warrant, providing an explanatory note from the prosecution describing the alleged fraudulent scheme and the amount of damages claimed.
Findings of the Commission
Upon review, the Commission observed that:
- the amount allegedly embezzled in the criminal case exactly matched the amount claimed in a parallel civil (commercial) dispute, a coincidence that was not explained either in the criminal case file or in the bureau’s responses;
- the national bureau failed to clarify why criminal liability was pursued against the applicant personally rather than against the company as a legal entity;
- no concrete information was provided regarding the applicant’s specific role in the alleged scheme, how it was carried out, or how proceeds were distributed among other alleged participants;
- the bureau’s responses remained general and conclusory, failing to establish any link between the applicant’s role as director and specific wrongful conduct, beyond the mere fact of holding that position.
Based on these findings, the Commission concluded that the nature of the allegations was more consistent with a commercial or private dispute than a criminal matter, and that the information provided did not meet the standard required for a clear and sufficient description of the individual’s alleged involvement, as required under INTERPOL’s Rules on the Processing of Data.
Decision
The Commission found that the challenged data did not comply with INTERPOL’s rules on the processing of personal data and ordered their deletion from INTERPOL’s files.
