Despite the intended benefits of Silver Notices, there are significant concerns that, like other notices, they may be misused and not subject to proper scrutiny. One pressing issue is that they may be used to circumvent Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs), and requests which require formal legal scrutiny and diplomatic oversight. Silver Notices provide a more direct means of requesting and sharing financial intelligence, which could be exploited by governments or law enforcement agencies seeking to track individuals without the appropriate legal justification. This expedited process, while efficient for legitimate law enforcement purposes, lacks the rigorous safeguards of traditional legal channels and could, if misused, become a tool for transnational repression.
Authoritarian regimes have a history of exploiting Interpol mechanisms, including Red and Blue Notices , to target political opponents under the guise of legitimate law enforcement. The risk now is that Silver Notices could be similarly misused to locate and freeze the assets of individuals who have fallen out of favour with their governments. This is particularly concerning for human rights defenders, journalists, and dissidents, whose financial independence and ability to operate freely may be severely impacted by the misuse of this mechanism. Without sufficient oversight, Silver Notices could become another instrument in the growing toolkit of transnational repression.