Guide

Diffusions: the other route

A diffusion is a request for cooperation sent directly by one country's National Central Bureau to some or all other members, rather than published by INTERPOL's General Secretariat.

• INTERPOL says member countries may request cooperation through a mechanism known as a diffusion. Diffusions are circulated directly by a National Central Bureau to all or selected members, while notices are issued by the General Secretariat.¹
• Diffusions use the same colour system as notices and must comply with the same Constitution and data processing rules. Red diffusions are checked by the Notices and Diffusions Task Force.¹
• Bloomberg reported in 2017 that a Russian diffusion naming Bill Browder circulated before INTERPOL found it non compliant and deleted it, and that it briefly affected his travel.²
• A researcher quoted by RFE/RL noted that a person removed from INTERPOL's lists may still appear in national police databases, and that governments can send diffusions directly to member states.³
• Disclose, reporting with the BBC on Russia's use of INTERPOL, cited 4,817 red notices and 5,240 red diffusions in circulation in September 2024, and said Russia was the top country issuing INTERPOL wanted notices.⁴

Sources

1. INTERPOL, About Notices (2026)
2. UNIAN (citing Bloomberg), Bloomberg: Interpol blocks Russia request to arrest Hermitage's Browder (27 October 2017)
3. RFE/RL, Rare Triumph For Tajikistan's IRPT, As Leader Removed From Interpol's 'Red Notice' (March 2018)
4. Disclose, How Moscow tracks down its opponents thanks to Interpol (26 January 2026)