Thousands of files provided by a whistleblower at Interpol expose for the first time the extent of Russia's apparent abuse of the international policing agency to target its critics abroad.
The data provided to the BBC World Service and French investigative outlet, Disclose, reveals that Russia is using Interpol's wanted lists to request the arrest of people such as political opponents, businessmen, and journalists, claiming that they have committed crimes.
Analysis of data also suggests that over the past decade, Interpol's own independent complaints unit has received more complaints about Russia than anyone else - three times more than the next highest country, Turkey.
In addition, it indicates complaints against Moscow's requests have led to more cases being overturned than for any other country.
After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Interpol introduced extra checks on Moscow's activity to prevent any potential misuse of Interpol's channels in relation to the targeting of individuals within or beyond the conflict in Ukraine.
But the leaked documents suggest these did not prevent Russia abusing the system, and the whistleblower told us some stricter measures were quietly dropped in 2025.
In response, Interpol says that every year, thousands of the world's most serious criminals are arrested thanks to its operations and that it has a number of systems to avoid misuse which have been strengthened over the last few years. It also says it is aware of the potential impact requests for arrest can have on individuals.
When you're hit with a red notice, your life changes completely, says Igor Pestrikov, a Russian businessman whose name appears in the leaked files.
Interpol is not a global police force itself, but helps police across the world to cooperate. A red notice is an alert to all of its 196 member countries, asking them to locate and arrest a person. A red diffusion is a similar request but is only sent to individual countries.
Pestrikov found he was named in a red diffusion after he fled Russia in June 2022 - four months after the invasion of Ukraine - and applied for asylum in France.
Pestrikov had been a major shareholder in large metals companies in Russia that were privatised in the 1990s, most notably Solikamsk Magnesium Plant. He believed the Kremlin's actions were politically motivated due to his refusal to comply with state demands to cease sales abroad.
The BBC also gained access to internal Interpol reports from 2024 and 2025, indicating ongoing concerns about Russia's activities from senior directors within the organisation. Despite the extra restrictions, approximately 90% of Russia's requests continued to pass initial checks in 2024.
Lawyers and international experts have called for Interpol to impose stricter controls to prevent misuse of its systems, raising questions about the effectiveness of existing measures against political abuses.
