On a humid June morning in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau, a team of state anti-corruption prosecutors set off from their headquarters on the northern fringe of the city for the short drive to Valea Morilor, a leafy neighborhood popular with the country’s elite. Their target was a white-walled villa flanked by cypress trees that belonged to Vitalie Pirlog, Moldova’s former justice minister, who up until early 2022 had been chairman of the Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files (CCF).
Contrary to the portrayals of spy thrillers, Interpol is not a police force. Rather, it acts like a wire service for global law enforcement, gathering information and disseminating Red Notices — non-public alerts that call on the organization’s 196 member states to arrest suspected criminals should they enter their borders. From his powerful perch on the CCF, Pirlog and his colleagues were able to decide which Red Notices should stand, and which should be lifted.