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ARGA Saudi Arabia

Client A.

Red Notice removed. Fraud charge within a corporate dispute.

Outcome
Red Notice removed
Jurisdiction
Russia
Duration
≈11 months

Situation

What happened

A businessman from Russia found himself at the centre of an acute corporate conflict: a former partner initiated a criminal prosecution for fraud on a particularly large scale, using connections inside the enforcement structures. The Russian authorities soon approached INTERPOL — a Red Notice was issued and circulated to member states, leaving the client unable to travel freely or to run a business abroad.

Key difficulties

  • A Red Notice issued and circulated to the 195 INTERPOL member states
  • The need to establish the commercial motive behind the prosecution and the misuse of the alert mechanism
  • Risk of detention at any border crossing
  • Limited public evidence — the matter was confidential

Strategy and work

How ARGA worked

  1. 1

    Case audit

    The ARGA team reviewed the criminal file, checked the client's status in the INTERPOL databases and confirmed an active Red Notice. A detailed memorandum was drawn up setting out the commercial and personal motive of the former partner behind the prosecution.

  2. 2

    Building the evidentiary record

    A dossier was prepared: the chronology of the corporate dispute, financial records, correspondence and statements from independent parties. The link between the opening of the criminal case and the escalation of the business disagreement was established.

  3. 3

    CCF complaint

    A complete complaint was filed with the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL's Files, evidencing a breach of Article 3 of INTERPOL's Constitution — the prohibition on using the organization for commercial or private ends.

  4. 4

    Protection in the country of residence

    Alongside the CCF procedure, protection against possible detention was arranged: memoranda were prepared for independently licensed counsel on the ground, and monitoring of border and police enquiries was put in place.

  5. 5

    Decision of the CCF

    The CCF ordered the deletion of the Red Notice as inconsistent with INTERPOL's rules. The client regained the ability to travel freely and to resume business activity abroad.

Outcome

Result

The Red Notice was deleted from the INTERPOL databases by decision of the CCF. The risk of detention at border crossings was removed, and the client continues to run a business in Europe.

Matters of this kind are handled across the ARGA international network. The role of ARGA Saudi Arabia in such work is limited to assessment and coordination — where representation before a court, prosecutor or state authority is required, it is carried out by independently licensed counsel in the jurisdiction concerned. Named clients are published with their consent; all other matters are anonymized, and identifying detail is withheld.

Contact

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