Outbreak of the Coronavirus and INTERPOL Red Notices

Currently, the whole world is being affected by the Covid-19 virus. People suffer from lockdowns and restrictions. A lot of people are confronted with financial difficulties and many people have even lost their jobs due to the Corona outbreak. As a result, it may be difficult to keep up with repayments on loans.
In some countries, it is common practice to write a cheque as security for a loan. If the repayments on the loan are not met, the lender will try to cash out the cheque. Often the cheque will bounce because there are no sufficient funds available. Facing a bounced cheque can happen to anyone, even if you have never missed any payment on your loan in the past.

Due to the current circumstances in connection with the outbreak of the Coronavirus, more and more people can’t meet their financial obligations. Financial situations have changed dramatically and some expats had no other choice than to move back to their country of origin. In the light of these developments, lenders are threatening with the issuance of a red notice against the people who are not able to come up with the payments on their loans. This is caused by the fact that the penal codes in several states criminalize the issuing of cheques without sufficient funds available in the borrowers account. However, in many cases there are no signs of dishonest intent, fraud or other criminal activity. The problem of wrongful criminal prosecution now seems to be particularly prevalent in Arab states, with many expats particularly experiencing difficulties with the United Arab Emirates.

No Interpol alert allowed for debt collection of civil and commercial loans

This means that if you are (temporarily) not able to meet your financial obligations due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus, you may be confronted with a red notice being issued against you, caused by the non-payment of a civil or commercial debt. Unfortunately, some states use an INTERPOL (red) notice for their debt collection in a civil case on the request of (local) companies, banks or individuals. However, it’s not allowed to use INTERPOL in order to enforce debt of civil or commercial nature. 

The first step is to try to negotiate with the lender of the loan. Our attorneys may be able to assist you with this. If negation is not possible (anymore), you may be confronted with a civil court case, or even prosecution, followed by a criminal conviction (in absentia) and a request for extradition. If a red notice will be issued against you, you are in risk of being arrested and detained.

Preventive CCF-request

If a company or bank is threatening you with the issuance of a red notice or if you fear that a red notice may be issued against you, the attorneys of Kaarls Strafrechtadvocaten may assist you with the submission of a preventive request at the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files (The CCF). Preventive requests aim to block any processing of data in INTERPOL’s Information System, requested by national authorities. INTERPOL’s rules require that data processed in the INTERPOL Information System must be accurate, relevant, up to data and not excessive in relation to their purpose. If a red notice has already been issued against you, the attorneys of Kaarls Strafrechtadvocaten can assist you with drafting and submitting a request for the removal of data.

The attorneys of Kaarls Strafrechtadvocaten have successfully challenged INTERPOL red notices and diffusions based on the fact that the underlying dispute was of civil nature, such as bounced cheques. Our attorneys know what information must be provided to the CCF. Our law firm can provide you with legal assistance in matters regarding criminal law and extradition law worldwide. 

Read more: 
Interpol: How to challenge an international arrest warrant (red notices and diffusions)? 
Bounced cheques, a civil matter? 
Removal of INTERPOL alerts, a few examples.

More information? Please contact Bob Kaarls (Tel. mobile / Whatsapp: +31653399102 or e-mail).