Kathrine Frich
Leaked documents have shed new light on how international policing tools can be turned into instruments of pressure.
The files point to a pattern that has left exiles living in fear far beyond Russia’s borders.
At the center of the claims is a system meant to fight crime, not political dissent.
Leaked records
Thousands of internal files shared with the BBC World Service and the French investigative outlet Disclose suggest
Russia has repeatedly used Interpol mechanisms to target critics abroad.
According to the BBC, those named include political opponents, journalists and business figures accused of criminal acts by Moscow.
Analysis of the material shows that over the past decade Interpol’s complaints body has received more objections to Russian requests than to those of any other country.
The data also indicates that a large share of Moscow’s requests were later dismissed as illegitimate.
Checks and loopholes
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Interpol introduced extra scrutiny of Moscow’s activity to prevent misuse of its systems, the BBC reported. However, leaked documents suggest these measures failed to stop questionable requests.
A whistleblower claimed that some of the stricter controls were quietly dropped in 2025.
Interpol responded that it has strengthened safeguards in recent years and remains aware of the impact arrest alerts can have on individuals.
Life on a list
“When you get a red notice, your life changes completely,” said Igor Pestrikov, a Russian businessman whose case appears in the leaked files.
Interpol red notices are not arrest warrants, but alerts asking member states to locate a person and, where national law allows, temporarily detain them.
After fleeing Russia in June 2022 and seeking asylum in France, Pestrikov learned he was subject to such a notice.
“You can’t rent an apartment, your bank accounts are blocked,” he said, describing what followed.
“You feel like a cornered rat,” Pestrikov added, saying police could “enter your house at any moment.”
A moral line
Pestrikov said pressure mounted before the invasion of Ukraine for him to redirect exports to the domestic market.
He opposed the move, saying, “it was also a moral issue… no one wanted to be involved, even indirectly, in the production of something used to kill people.”
He believes his refusal, and the fact that his wife is Ukrainian, led to the nationalization of his businesses and criminal investigations against him.
After nearly two years, Interpol’s oversight body ruled his case was political and dropped the request.
Wider pattern
Lawyers told the BBC that Russia has long been among the main abusers of Interpol alerts. “It’s not hard to cheat the system,” said international lawyer Yuriy Nemets.
Leaked messages also show Russia using Interpol channels informally to seek information on critics, even when formal notices were rejected.
Internal Interpol reports from 2024 and 2025 raised “serious concern” about “intentional misuse” by Moscow, according to the BBC.
Sources: BBC, Digi24.
