UAE Investigation Reveals Interpol’s Reputation Damage and Concealed Influence Tool
Facts and evidence substantiate the UAE’s tarnishing of Interpol’s reputation during its 30-month presidency, overseen by security official Ahmed Al Raisi, who faces legal action for alleged involvement in torture and human rights abuses.
Through deceit and financial manipulation, the UAE steadily built its clout within Interpol, ultimately securing the election of Al Raisi. This newfound influence was subsequently wielded to silence critics and prop up authoritarian regimes in both the Arab region and globally.
Besides Interpol’s ongoing challenge with the misuse of the ‘Red Notices’ system, exacerbated by totalitarian regimes employing it to target dissidents, the organization’s urgent requirement for robust leadership marked by integrity and transparency remains evident. The election of Al-Raisi to helm the organization delivered a devastating blow, further eroding Interpol’s standing.
Interpol is the largest international police institution. It was established in 1923 and is made up of police forces from 194 countries. Its headquarters is in Lyon, France. Its mission is to share information and assist police agencies in almost every country to find and detain suspects.
It also holds significance in the fight against global crimes, including counterfeiting, smuggling, and illegal trafficking of weapons.
Observers point out that the UAE is utilizing Interpol as a means to address grievances of officials and security entities against individuals sought within the Emirates, primarily for commercial and political motives. This trend implies a diminished sense of security for all individuals involved.
PREEXISTING OPPOSITION TO AL RAISI AND THE UAE
Returning to the election of Al-Raisi as President of Interpol, since the announcement of his candidacy, he has been met with widespread opposition and criticism from international human rights organizations of all kinds and orientations.
These organizations launched a critical campaign to thwart efforts to elect Al Raisi, given his dark record and fear of UAE conspiracies. However, the General Assembly of Interpol, at its 89th session held in Istanbul in November 2021, elected the notorious Emirati official for a term extending for four years.
“The UAE paved the way years before Al Raisi elected to gain control over Interpol by actively engaging in the organization’s activities, hosting numerous meetings, and generously donating €50 million to the organization in 2017, equivalent to twice the organization’s annual budget.”
The source of criticism and concerns raised at the time of Al Raisi’s appointment to lead an organization responsible for combating crime worldwide is that he is a nominee from a country known for various internal crimes, including suppression of freedoms, arbitrary arrests, torture, and other violations.
As well as on the external level, committing war crimes in Yemen, Libya, and Sudan, money laundering, and using the Israeli NSO system to spy on journalists, officials, and activists around the world.
In April 2021, former British Attorney General David Calvert Smith warned that Al-Raisi’s election to head the organization would strengthen the UAE’s control over the organization, which exploits the “red notice” system to pursue suspects in cases of a civil nature or political opponents.
Since 2015, Al-Raisi has served as the Inspector General of the Ministry of Interior in the UAE, which oversees the prison system. Officials under his command have faced allegations of torture and mistreatment of detainees. Some detainees have died as a result of this treatment, prompting investigations and legal cases against him in Europe.
SEEKING TO HIDE THE TOOL OF FINANCING AND INFLUENCE
Secretly and without any announcement, the UAE authorities attempted to hide the financing tool they used to increase their influence in Interpol through one of its mercenaries accused of crimes of torturing a prisoner and violating Lebanese human rights, Elias Murr.
It is known that Al-Murr – a former Minister of Defense in Lebanon during the period between 2005 and 2013 – is considered one of the UAE’s mercenaries, and it funded him to form the “Interpol Foundation for a Safer World,” which impersonates the international organization’s name, claiming to support the official Interpol organization.
Established in 2017 in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, the Al Murr Foundation purportedly aimed to combat global crime and terrorism, serving as a facade to improve the Emirates’ reputation.
The Al Murr Foundation was only active as a propaganda platform for the UAE to cover up its human rights violations and the crimes it committed, as well as to increase the extent of Abu Dhabi’s influence in international institutions, including Interpol.
In November 2021, a Danish citizen of Lebanese origin filed a criminal complaint before Swiss Attorney General Olivier Journot, against Elias Murr, accusing him of numerous crimes, including “physical harm, kidnapping, and abuse of power.”
In recent times, the UAE opted to close the Al-Murr Foundation and cease all financial backing for the individual, as he had fulfilled his role in the UAE’s malevolent schemes, ultimately becoming a liability for Abu Dhabi.
A SEVERE DETERIORATION IN INTERPOL’S REPUTATION
Throughout Al-Raisi’s term as Interpol’s leader, significant harm befell the organization’s reputation due to a surge in red notices issued by authoritarian regimes for cases beyond Interpol’s jurisdiction. This trend further bolstered long-standing allegations that Interpol operates as a tool wielded by these regimes.
In a move of alarming implications aimed at further integrating Syria into the organization, Al-Raisi convened a meeting on February 29, 2024, in Tunisia with the infamous Syrian Minister of Interior, Muhammad al-Rahmoun. Al-Rahmoun stands accused of torture, enforced disappearance, and murder of Syrian dissidents, resulting in his inclusion on the sanctions lists of Europe, America, Canada, and Britain.
Only a year after Al-Raisi’s election, the American newspaper Newsweek highlighted the significant deterioration in Interpol’s reputation since the Emirati official headed the organization.
During that period, the newspaper noted that Al-Raisi’s presidency had led to a marked decline in Interpol’s reputation, attributable to the authoritarian measures adopted by member states.
It stressed that the ongoing failure to hold accountable the most egregious offenders of Interpol’s protocols is causing the organization’s reputation to deteriorate, especially given the shadow cast by Al-Raisi’s reputation. Before assuming his position, Al-Raisi faced accusations of serious crimes, including torture, during his tenure as Inspector General of the Ministry of Interior in the Emirates.
It warned that despite widespread concerns regarding the election of a candidate from the United Arab Emirates, a nation with a poor human rights track record, Interpol’s behavior in the subsequent months showed little regard for these apprehensions.
MULTIPLE LEGAL CLAIMS FILED AGAINST AL-RAISI
What also added to the further deterioration in the reputation of Interpol was the series of lawsuits that Al-Raisi faced for practicing torture.
Despite the dismissal of many complaints in countries such as Britain, France, Sweden, and Turkey due to jurisdictional challenges, Al-Raisi’s absence from Europe did not prevent legal action. However, his move to Interpol’s Lyon headquarters in France for his new position now places him at risk of prosecution once again.
In March 2022, fresh allegations of “torture” and “atrocities” were submitted to the Crimes Against Humanity Section of the Anti-Terrorism Prosecution Office in Paris, France, targeting Al-Raisi.
The Emirati judicial and legal advisor, Mohammed bin Saqr Al Zaabi, believes that regardless of the path these complaints and lawsuits take, they have led to “a significant impact on the reputation and credibility of the Interpol organization.”
Al-Zaabi maintains that despite the outcome of these complaints, they bring Al-Raisi under global scrutiny, preventing him from committing further legal infractions and violations, as he is aware that human rights organizations and the international community are closely monitoring his actions.
Regarding the objectives behind submitting these complaints, Khaled Ibrahim, leader of the Gulf Center for Human Rights, one of the entities filing torture complaints against Al-Raisi, emphasizes their significance in depicting the UAE’s reality as a nation where severe human rights abuses take place. He highlights the lack of domestic avenues for justice and emphasizes the necessity of resorting to international justice principles to attain it.
Ibrahim anticipates that Al-Raisi will inevitably be affected by these legal actions, which will label him as a “wanted individual” and expose his involvement in “perpetrating torture against Ahmed Mansour and other Emiratis.” He emphasizes that “the truth will surface, and those responsible for torture in the Emirates and neighboring countries will face consequences, even if it takes time.”
Vaghela pointed out that the global campaign once more criticizes the appointment of Al-Raisi as the head of Interpol, considering “the appalling human rights track record of the UAE and Al-Raisi’s involvement in a security system that consistently suppresses dissent and targets human rights advocates.”
THE UAE TURNED INTERPOL INTO A PRIVATE SECURITY COMPANY
Human rights circles affirm that Interpol has evolved from a law enforcement body, which exchanges information with global police agencies to apprehend fugitives and ensure justice, into a private security firm employed by autocrats to intimidate and prosecute political dissidents.
This came since the UAE, which is infamous in the field of human rights, was able to possess this amazing influence within an important institution such as Interpol.
The UAE has successfully manipulated its systems, repeatedly abusing the Red Notice system to settle debts and target political adversaries, leveraging publicly accessible sources and credible media accounts accessible to all.
It also ignored information that is based on private sources that the reader cannot verify, even if the party that published the information is reliable.
Abu Dhabi has exploited the issue of red notices within the Interpol system. Red Notices are often perceived as akin to arrest warrants, but they merely signify the presence of an arrest warrant issued by a member state and disseminated internationally. They serve as a general request and do not inherently impose any legally binding obligation to take action.
The United States, for example, does not consider Red Notices a formal request by law enforcement. However, the result is fairly consistent: they often result in arrest and, at a minimum, travel becomes very difficult.
Issuing a Red Notice requires a country’s National Central Bureau to issue a Red Notice through Interpol to trace and arrest individuals.
Interpol then conducts checks on this request. Interpol is essentially an organization for exchanging police information, and in doing so it depends on the credibility of the state and the intelligence services.
As a result, over the past few years, an increasing trend has been observed towards the misuse of Red Notices by governments for political purposes, as well as by competing companies for commercial purposes, especially after Al-Raisi headed the organization.
The UAE has a reputation for abusing Interpol, as highlighted in a report authored by the former Director of Public Prosecutions in the United Kingdom, Sir David Calvert Smith. The report documented Abu Dhabi’s utilization of these notices to settle debts or target political adversaries.
Smith’s report found strong evidence that the UAE has abused the Red Notice system for minor crimes, to achieve political gains against those it sees as threatening the regime, noting that Interpol recently deleted many requests submitted by Abu Dhabi due to its misuse of the system.
According to a report issued by Foreign Policy magazine under the title “The Scourge of the Red Notice,” these notices are intended for people suspected of committing serious crimes. However the UAE uses it to collect its debts in commercial disputes, returned checks, or even credit card debts, and they are not criminal penalties in some countries.
The Foreign Policy report refuted the presence of publicly available data regarding the number of red notices issued by the UAE for these relatively straightforward issues. Nonetheless, a British organization aiding individuals in such situations claims to observe a minimum of two cases per month.
The magazine highlighted the case of Pancho Campo, the international tennis player, who said it took 9 years to remove the red notice issued against him from the UAE due to a civil dispute with a former business partner, which led to the destruction of his career.
Attorney Michel Estlund detailed to the magazine how Abu Dhabi employs a private international agency to recover debts or retaliate against former partners engaged in commercial disagreements with officials there. He highlighted the UAE’s poor human rights track record, indicating that extradition to the UAE puts individuals at risk of torture, mistreatment, and political repercussions. This implies that one could swiftly be labeled as an “enemy of the state.”
Smith’s report also mentioned the case of Osama Al Omari, the former CEO and General Manager of the Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone Authority. He became embroiled in a conflict within the ruling family due to his ties with one of its members.
Three years after his dismissal from his job in the UAE, a Red Notice was issued to attempt asset monitoring abroad. In 2016, he was detained at the US border and was informed of serious issues with Abu Dhabi, which later turned out to be due to his past association with family members who had lost their power.
Revenge against Emirati opponents
The UAE authorities exploited Interpol as a tool to retaliate against Emirati dissidents and activists pushing for reform and human rights safeguards within the nation. Throughout this period, Interpol approved Red Notice requests from countries such as the UAE without establishing any system to evaluate their validity.
Apprehensions regarding the UAE’s manipulation of Interpol have intensified further with Al-Raisi assuming leadership. Beyond UAE borders, several well-known Emirati dissidents persist in exposing domestic abuses, provoking frustration and hostility from Emirati authorities.
While requests and diplomatic pressure on countries to return them to the Emirates failed, Abu Dhabi may arbitrarily resort to Interpol to achieve this.
Two years ago, the authorities placed four dissidents on the Emirati terrorist lists, Hamad Al Shamsi (activist and researcher, vice president of the Emirates Anti-Normalization League and executive director of the Emirates Detainees Advocacy Center), Dr. Saeed Al Tunaiji (former director of the Reform Call in Ras Al Khaimah), legal advisor Dr. Muhammad Saqr Al Zaabi, and Ahmed Al-Shaiba Al-Nuaimi (researcher and educational expert).
Their incorporation directly leads to consequences such as asset freezes, property seizures, and criminalization of communication with relatives residing in the Emirates. However, the current presence of Al-Raisi heightens their risk of being pursued internationally, exposing them to danger and threats.
Hamad Al Shamsi expressed concerns that Interpol might be employed as a tool against us. There is a rising apprehension that Interpol, led by Al Raisi, could potentially issue red notices under Emirati influence, impeding our ability to travel and limiting our freedom of movement.
Al Shamsi highlighted that Serbia had recently extradited a Bahraini dissident based on an Interpol red notice issued at Bahrain’s behest, disregarding the European Court of Human Rights’ instruction to pause the extradition pending additional information regarding the potential risks of torture or ill-treatment the individual might face if returned to Bahrain.
He additionally commented, “Following Al-Raisi’s appointment as Interpol’s head last November, I received a flood of threatening messages through social media platforms, hinting at my imminent arrest.” This marked a new strategy of intimidation, with messages originating from a mix of authentic and fake Twitter accounts, some linked to influential figures within the Emirates.
He expressed that this “is not a singular occurrence but rather a component of the ongoing ordeal endured by Emiratis under our government, which purports to be ‘combating terrorism.’ The term ‘terrorism’ has become a convenient justification for the UAE to infringe upon the rights and liberties of its citizens, sanctioned under the guise of the so-called anti-terrorism legislation, which in reality serves as a mechanism to suppress human rights.”
INTERPOL’S CORRUPTION AND UAE’S EXPLOITATION
In recent times, discussions regarding Interpol’s corruption have intensified, particularly following the arrest of the organization’s former president, Ming Hongwei, by Chinese authorities. Hongwei was subsequently convicted on corruption charges and sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Corruption concerns have extended beyond the political arena, as the organization has forged controversial economic partnerships, in 2011 signing a multi-million partnership with FIFA to create a “10-year program for integrity in sport.”
Interpol was later forced to suspend this partnership following the discovery of massive corruption within FIFA, which became an institution referred to in the world of corruption. It was embarrassing for an international police organization to receive a large sum of money to investigate corruption, from an organization that turned out to be institutionally corrupt.
It seems that the UAE authorities fully realized that money is the best way to gain influence and influence over Interpol, so they pledged to donate $50 million to it in 2017, which is a very large amount, especially if we know that Interpol’s annual budget does not exceed 150 million.
Sir David Smith said in his report that this donation from the UAE aimed to inappropriately influence Interpol through funding, indicating that the UAE, with this donation, seeks to consolidate its influence by securing the election of Major General Al-Raisi as head of the organization.
Some human rights organizations have hinted, during their repeated letters warning against Al-Raisi’s assassination, the need to inspect the generous Emirati donation, which appears to be a bribe in exchange for electing its general.
Interpol: Manipulated by UAE Tyranny
Undoubtedly, Interpol’s global standing and trustworthiness have declined in recent times, increasingly viewed as a tool of authoritarian regimes to target dissenters. The Interpol system has been repeatedly exploited to prosecute journalists, human rights activists, and political adversaries.
Al-Raisi’s election further cemented the negative perception of the international body and underscored suspicions of financial impropriety within the institution. It is widely believed that the Emirati official’s election was facilitated by the UAE’s substantial donation.
Awarding the Interpol presidency to the UAE representative is seen as a symbolic gesture, serving as a reward for the oppressive Abu Dhabi regime. This move is anticipated to bolster the legitimacy of the appointee and improve his damaged reputation, as holding such a prestigious position often bestows respectability upon individuals with questionable backgrounds, such as Al Raisi.
As this report makes clear, Interpol is not a transparent organization and, recently, has faced persistent criticism of the political use of Red Notices against political opponents, human rights defenders, journalists, and lawyers. In addition to criticism on other issues, such as the actions of his leadership in managing his business affairs.
With the arrival of a senior official from a government institution that violates human rights to become president, and what is meant here is Ahmed Al-Raisi, Interpol has lost what remains of its credibility as an international law enforcement agency that respects rights.
Human rights advocates worldwide affirm that subjecting a significant organization tasked with global crime prevention to practices contradicting its constitution—meant to keep it neutral from political matters and uphold international human rights standards—seriously undermines its core mission. This underscores the urgent need for extensive reforms centered on integrity, transparency, and adherence to the law.
