Valdecy Urquiza

A warm welcome to Jordan 🇯🇴 as the newest member of the INTERPOL Global Academy Network. The agreement I signed with Director of Public Security Major General Dr Abeidallah A Maaitah, with INTERPOL President Lucas Philippe in attendance, makes Jordan the 27th member – and fourth from the Middle East and North Africa region. Bringing its experience and expertise in counter-terrorism, combating drug and weapons trafficking, as well as border security, Jordan’s membership will significantly contribute to this law enforcement learning platform.

Pleased to meet with United Nations Police Adviser Commissioner Faisal Shahkar during his visit to @INTERPOL_HQ. With a common objective of protecting communities through effective policing, it was an opportunity to explore practical avenues to strengthen cooperation with @UNPOL at the operational and institutional levels.

Organized crime generates billions in illicit profits, yet 99 per cent of criminal assets remain unrecovered. INTERPOL's Silver Notice is changing this – with over USD 40 million in assets traced or identified in less than 18 months. 🇧🇷 My meeting with Andrei Augusto Passos Rodrigues, Director-General of the Brazilian @policiafederal, helped identify additional areas to build on the successes achieved so far. Effectively tackling organized crime means targeting their financial foundations. —————— O crime organizado gera bilhões em lucros ilícitos, mas 99% dos bens criminosos permanecem irrecuperáveis. O Alerta Prata da INTERPOL está mudando essa realidade – com mais de US$ 40 milhões em ativos rastreados ou identificados em menos de 18 meses. 🇧🇷 O meu encontro com Andrei Augusto Passos Rodrigues, Diretor-Geral da @policiafederal brasileira, identificou áreas adicionais para ampliar os sucessos alcançados até o momento. Combater o crime organizado de forma eficaz significa atacar suas bases financeiras.

🇮🇹 With Italy at the forefront of the global fight against transnational crime, Minister of Interior @Piantedosim's visit to @INTERPOL_HQ was an opportunity to discuss further avenues for cooperation. Italy has been the driving force behind two key INTERPOL initiatives; I-CAN, disrupting the ’Ndrangheta - one of the most extensive and powerful criminal organizations in the world - and the Silver Notice, targeting assets linked to criminal activities. Discussions with the delegation, which included Prefect Raffaele Grassi, Deputy Director General of Public Security, was also an opportunity to hear about Italy’s current security priorities and operational goals. The visit underscores the productive and ongoing collaboration between Italy and INTERPOL in enhancing global safety. —————— 🇮🇹 Con l’Italia in prima linea nella lotta globale contro la criminalità transnazionale, la visita del Ministro dell’Interno Matteo Piantedosi al quartier generale dell’INTERPOL è stata un’occasione per discutere ulteriori modalità di cooperazione. L’Italia è stata la forza trainante di due iniziative chiave dell’INTERPOL: I-CAN, volta a smantellare la ‘Ndrangheta, una delle organizzazioni criminali più estese e potenti al mondo, e la Silver Notice, che mira a individuare e neutralizzare i beni legati ad attività criminali. L’incontro con la delegazione, che comprendeva il Prefetto Raffaele Grassi, Vice Direttore Generale della Pubblica Sicurezza, ha offerto anche l’opportunità di approfondire le attuali priorità di sicurezza e gli obiettivi operativi dell’Italia. La visita sottolinea la proficua e continua collaborazione tra l’Italia e l’INTERPOL per il rafforzamento della sicurezza globale.

I had the pleasure of visiting Türkiye 🇹🇷 this week to strengthen our international police cooperation efforts. I was pleased to meet with the new head of the Turkish National Police, Director General of Security Ali Fidan and Deputy Minister of Interior Ali Çelik to discuss our joint commitment to combating transnational organized crime networks. The opportunity to visit the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) in Ankara and speak with the officers working there was also a highlight. NCBs are the critical links between police across our member countries. Türkiye ranks among our top countries for contributing law enforcement data – providing a strong foundation for identifying links that would otherwise remain undetected across borders. A powerful example of this was through our Identify Me campaign, when a Russian citizen who died in Spain in 2005 was successfully identified 20 years later through a fingerprint match with a national database in Türkiye. Together, we continue to build the connections that keep communities safe worldwide. My sincere thanks to Executive Committee Delegate for Europe Mustafa Serkan Sabanca, and all my Turkish hosts, for the warm welcome and constructive discussions.

A productive visit from Vice President and Minister of Interior of the Republic of Serbia, Ivica Dačić to INTERPOL headquarters. Our discussions focused on how INTERPOL can better support Serbia in addressing its most pressing transnational organized crime threats, particularly in combating drug trafficking. It was also an opportunity to brief the Vice President and his delegation on key INTERPOL operations and activities as well as explore areas where we can strengthen our joint response to evolving criminal threats.

My thanks to Ireland’s Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O’Callaghan and An Garda Síochána Commissioner Justin Kelly, for the warm welcome and productive discussions in Dublin. It was Ireland who provided the first Director of INTERPOL’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre when it launched – and continues to send highly experienced and professional police officers to work in a range of crime areas at our General Secretariat headquarters in Lyon. Our meeting was an opportunity for me to underline INTERPOL’s continued commitment for enhanced engagement with Ireland on combating transnational organized crime. It was also a real pleasure to meet with colleagues working at INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau in Dublin and learn more about their daily activities. During my mission to Ireland, I was also honoured to address the European Anti-Financial Crime Summit, at a time when the fight against financial crime has never been more urgent. What's striking is how these crimes have evolved - investment fraud, business email compromise and scam centres are now sophisticated, cross-border operations that exploit AI, identity theft and vulnerable populations, including refugees. Our response must be equally global and coordinated. Through initiatives like I-GRIP, since 2024 INTERPOL has supported member countries in more than 1,500 transnational fraud cases in lost assets valued at USD 1.1 billion. And through our Silver Notice pilot we are now helping law enforcement target criminal assets and profits rather than just suspects. But law enforcement cannot win this alone. The private sector sits at the centre of this threat, and practical cooperation is what makes recovery possible. The tools exist. The partnerships are forming. What matters now is sustaining the momentum.

This case marks the first time a suspect has been arrested following an identification through the Identify Me campaign. It represents a major milestone and a powerful example of the impact this initiative can achieve. To the families still waiting for answers: we remain fully committed to supporting investigations that not only restore identities to victims, but also generate new leads and bring those responsible to justice.

This week’s INTERPOL Heads of National Central Bureaus conference showed the power of global policing united by a shared purpose. Law enforcement leaders came together not just to talk, but to collaborate - sharing experiences, insights and the lessons learned. Year after year we see the results. Real operations. Real arrests. Real lives protected. The relationships built here will continue to shape how we cooperate and respond to evolving threats. In a fast-changing world, this unity is our greatest strength.

Our INTERPOL’s Heads of National Central Bureaus conference is where collaboration begins. This is where ideas turn into action. This is where we come together not as representatives of different countries, but as partners, as peers, as law enforcement professionals united by a shared mission.

Such a pleasure to welcome Major General Bold Jamsranjav, Commissioner General of the National Police Agency of Mongolia to @INTERPOL_HQ   We discussed emerging crime threats and explored how INTERPOL can support Mongolia's law enforcement efforts, with our conversation focusing on: •Current crime trends and regional security challenges •Opportunities for enhanced information sharing and operational collaboration •How INTERPOL's tools and services can strengthen Mongolia’s capacity to combat transnational crime   It was also an opportunity to thank the Commissioner General for Mongolia’s strong support for the International Day of Remembrance for Fallen Officers (7 March) which included the Government Palace being lit up in blue.   I’m looking forward to our continued close cooperation to keep communities safe.

Un autre bel exemple de coopération policière internationale. C'est une preuve supplémentaire que, peu importe où les fugitifs tentent de se réfugier, ils seront toujours appréhendés par la justice. Félicitations à tous ceux qui ont participé à cette arrestation importante.

It was a real honour to welcome the President, Vice Presidents and Delegates of the Executive Committee to our Global Complex for Innovation conference n Singapore for their first meeting as a group.   Their perspectives, experience, and commitment are essential to ensuring INTERPOL meets the expectations and needs of our membership.   Over the past year, I set out to transform our Organization. To make it more effective, more modern and more accountable.   The meeting this week was an opportunity for me to brief the Executive Committee on the work achieved so far, the priorities which have been set, and how the Organization’s new five-year Strategic Framework (2026 – 2030) will be implemented.   This includes new ways to support our membership in terms of operational engagement, such as specialized regional Task Forces.   The first will be established at our Regional Bureau in Buenos Aires. It will act as an intelligence hub, bringing together the 12 South American countries to target drug trafficking routes, high-value individuals and their assets.   A similar model is also being established to combat the growing threat of online fraud and scam centres with the launch of operation Shadow Storm.   I look forward to these initiatives bringing real results for our members, stronger action against organized crime and better protection for the communities we serve.

Just days after the Global Fraud Summit in Vienna, the 41st Latin American Congress on Banking Security (CELAES), organized by Felaban and Febraban, reinforced a clear message: financial fraud is central to transnational organized crime.   In 2025, global losses reached an estimated USD 442 billion - likely an undercount, as much goes unreported.   The threat is dangerous not only for its scale, but for the speed at which it evolves, along with its severe human impact.   No single institution can face this alone.   INTERPOL’s Gateway Initiative connects law enforcement, cybersecurity firms and the banking sector to share malware samples and link investigations across borders, turning isolated cases into coordinated global action.   But ad hoc efforts are not enough. We need structured, routine partnerships.   Imagine if banks, telecoms and fintechs shared threat indicators as naturally as they report suspicious transactions.   This is not someone else’s challenge. It is ours - and what we build at forums like this Congress and the Global Fraud Summit will determine whether we can keep pace with the threat.

Our member countries have been unequivocal: fraud has become one of INTERPOL’s top operational priorities. For me, the one message we have to take away from this Global Fraud Summit is not just that we need to act. But that we can act. Right away. If we look at the Call to Action, many of the recommended steps can happen straight away. They don’t need a new platform for us to deliver immediate, impactful results. INTERPOL provides a trusted, neutral platform for 196 member countries, and trusted partners like the UNODC and the European Commission, to share intelligence to fully understand the threat, and to work together to combat it. We can start with a default operational decision that fraud is a cross-border threat. From today. We can start sharing more intelligence to INTERPOL’s secure environment to further enhance our criminal assessments. Straight away. We can rely on INTERPOL’s established communications networks to reach out to partner agencies and to check our data holdings. Right now. We have the capabilities, the tools and the expertise. What we need is the energy and commitment to fully use them.

Worldwide losses related to financial fraud in 2025 alone have been estimated at USD 442 billion - and our Global Financial Fraud Assessment shows that the threat is accelerating.   We need to target the main criminal actors, make fraud harder to commit and make it less profitable.   That’s why the support announced at the Global Fraud Summit by the UK’s Fraud Minister @RTHondavehanson for INTERPOL’s Shadow Storm Task Force is so critical.   This initiative will bring together all the key links in the various chains to streamline intelligence, identify suspects, disrupt financial flows and dismantle criminal networks.

@INTERPOL_HQ @UNODC @RTHondavehanson @EUHomeAffairs @matildaalomatu @magnusbrunner We need to turn the discussions we’ve had today into concrete actions. We need to act.

Setting the stage for strategic discussions at the #GlobalFraudSummit Leaders from @EUHomeAffairs, France, Ghana, United Kingdom, @INTERPOL_HQ and @UNODC examine the evolving global fraud landscape, share priorities and responses to fraud, exchange experiences, and explore opportunities for coordinated, evidence-based action.

➡️ Join us today for the UNODC-INTERPOL #GlobalFraudSummit Governments, law enforcement and the private sector are joining forces to strengthen the fight against organized fraud. Follow the plenary session live: bit.ly/GFS_16

The next two days of the #GlobalFraudSummit are a critical opportunity. We’re here because fraud doesn’t wait: It crosses borders It deceives people And it harms businesses The threat is real and is growing. Looking forward to getting this important event under way with co-host @UNODC Acting Executive Director John Brandolino, and the UK’s Fraud Minister, Lord Hanson.

With the @INTERPOL_HQ -UNODC #GlobalFraudSummit starting tomorrow, was good to meet with our teams who have been working hard behind the scenes to bring this event to life. This summit is both timely and necessary. By bringing together the relevant actors we can take decisive action in tackling the evolving scale and complexity of fraud.