The appointment of the UAE's General Al Raisi as Director of Interpol has sparked concerns amongst the expat community in Middle Eastern countries. Qatar and the UAE have remained top abusers of the Interpol Red Notice system, issuing notices against foreigners for alleged financial crimes, including mortgages and credit card debt.
These Red Notices continue to cause the arrest and unfair detention of expats in countries like Italy, Spain, the UK, Denmark and more. In many cases, the reported victim doesn't even owe money to the banks. Travel is risky for anyone who feels they may be unfairly targeted by financial institutions, business partners, employers or ex spouses.
Interpol accepts Red Notice requests wholesale, without consideration of the evidence (or lack of). The impact a Red Notice can have on someone's life is severe. They can be arrested, detained or extradited, denied employment, travel and residency visas. “Recently, we’ve seen the US taking Gulf issued Interpol Red Notices more seriously and denying entrance visas to listed persons. This is in contrast to previous years where they disregarded Gulf warrants, knowing that they were often issued without merit”, said Interpol expert, Radha Stirling, the only advocate specialising in Middle Eastern Interpol abuse over the past 15+ years.
Stirling continued, “we regularly delete Interpol Red Notices from the system and have maintained a 100% success rate over the past decade and a half. We proactively make submissions to Interpol in the event that there is a chance an individual may be reported in the future and ensure that they are not at risk of being detained abroad. As part of our work, we represent clients in immigration and visa applications, providing testimony to authorities to make their lives remain as uninterrupted as possible”. Stirling also represents clients and works with law enforcement bodies and law firms to provide expert witness testimony in immigration and extradition cases, as well as identifying and addressing the root cause of the risk. Stirling also represents clients in debt negotiations with banks and in private disputes to prevent escalation.
Her organisation, IPEX (Interpol and Extradition) Reform, has dealt with unfair Red Notices from all over the world, including Egypt, China, South Korea, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Venezuela, the UK, the United States, Australia and more. Many of these Red Notices are related to business deals, property, mortgages, fraud allegations, cryptocurrency as well as political and personal vendettas.
Stirling advises people to contact them as soon as they feel they may be at risk so preventative measures can be taken.
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