International Criminal Police Organization

INTERPOL, short for the International Criminal Police Organization, is the world’s largest international police organization, with 196 member countries. Founded in 1923, its mission is to support law enforcement agencies around the world in combating transnational crime through enhanced cooperation, information sharing, and coordinated operations. INTERPOL’s work with the United Nations focuses on five main priorities: counter-terrorism, transnational organized crime, corruption and fraud, drug trafficking, criminal prevention and justice, and cybercrime. 

Today, the UNEP is a decision making body which consists of representatives from all 193 member states of the UN. They meet once a year to review the work of the agency, set its priorities and make policy decisions. It is responsible for providing guidance on the development and implementation of environmental policies and programs. Through its work, the committee aims to create a more sustainable and equitable world for all people.

Across the world, vehicle theft has surged as one of the most complex forms of organized international criminal activity. The increasing prevalence of relay attacks, which exploit vulnerabilities in keyless entry systems has allowed criminals to steal vehicles, often in under a minute, without the need for physical tools or intricate wiring modifications. Vehicles are often stolen in Canada, the United States, or United Kingdom and trafficked overseas to West Africa or Eastern Europe. These vehicle thefts are part of large, organized criminal networks that, due to their international nature, create legal and jurisdictional complications, making it difficult for local or federal law enforcement agencies to intervene. Therefore, a cooperative response through the INTERPOL network is necessary to crack down on the trafficking of stolen vehicles. In order to address this issue, INTERPOL maintains a Stolen Motor Vehicle (SMV) database. In February 2024, the RCMP integrated Canadian Police Information Centre’s (CPIC) stolen vehicle information with INTERPOL’s SMV database, allowing for Project Drive Out, which has seized trafficked Canadian vehicles in faraway countries such as Nigeria and Ghana, and contributed to a 19% decrease in auto thefts in Canada in 2024. Stolen cars also play a critical role in facilitating and funding other international crimes, such as human trafficking, arms smuggling, and robbery. Investigations of vehicle trafficking can often lead to larger discoveries that are crucial to takedown international criminal syndicates. Interpol’s execution of major coordinated enforcement operations, such as Project Drive Out, which initiated 18 investigations into organized crime groups, highlight the power of INTERPOL and the cooperation of intelligence agencies in preventing vehicle theft and dismantling the revenue streams that it provides for organized crime. 

INTERPOL detects 200 stolen vehicles from Canada each week

INTERPOL targets stolen vehicle trafficking in West African police operation

INTERPOL and the Government of Canada join forces against transnational vehicle crime

Hundreds of stolen cars recovered in global police operation against vehicle trafficking

Government of Canada National Action Plan results in 19 per cent decline in auto theft

Priorities for INTERPOL - United Nations collaboration

Cryptocurrency-related crimes have grown into a pervasive global threat, ranging from large-scale money laundering and investment fraud to ransomware, phishing, and AI-enhanced scams, with estimates showing billions of dollars laundered annually through virtual assets. In 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that in the United States, crypto accounted for about 1 in every 4 dollars that consumers lost to fraudulent schemes, with total losses increasing 183% in just one year. The nature of cryptocurrencies as virtual assets intended to provide anonymity enables criminals to engage in illicit activity in foreign jurisdictions. Social media has fuelled various crypto scams that include fake exchanges, phishing attacks on private wallets, and pump and dump schemes. Cryptocurrencies are often used to receive and launder payment for organized crime and illicit activities including extortion, fraud, and terrorism. Given the jurisdictional complications and international nature of many crypto-related crimes, law enforcement and intelligence agency cooperation through INTERPOL is critical to ensuring that crypto criminals face prosecution for their crimes. INTERPOL’s financial crime and Anti-Corruption Centre conducts worldwide campaigns, such as Operation HAECHI III, which arrested nearly 1,000 suspects, blocked approximately 2,800 bank and virtual asset accounts, and seized approximately USD 120 million linked to phishing schemes, romance fraud, investment scams, and online gambling.The largest raids took place in Singapore, Korea, and the Philippines. 

While INTERPOL has conducted several successful operations in recent years, cryptocurrency is a rapidly evolving landscape, and law enforcement agencies struggle to keep up with emerging technologies and practices, such as money laundering through cryptocurrency cross bridges, designed to shield the identities of parties involved as well as transfer assets between blockchain networks to further obfuscate the digital paper trail. To address the ever-changing nature of crypto related crimes, INTERPOL must act to deepen its access to virtual asset service provider data and develop its blockchain forensic mechanisms in order to disrupt crypto scams as well as money laundering and critical funding mechanisms for organized crime. 

INTERPOL financial crime operation makes record 5,500 arrests, seizures worth over USD 400 million

Cyber-enabled financial crime: USD 130 million intercepted in global INTERPOL police operation

ICYMI: At Hearing, Experts Agree with Warren that Stablecoins and Crypto Pose Threats to American Consumers

INTERPOL Financial Fraud assessment: A global threat boosted by technology