Ex-Interpol Executive Arrested in UAE Amid Corruption Scandal

Vitalie Pirlog, a former senior official at Interpol, has been detained in the UAE following a request from French authorities as part of an investigation into a corruption scheme that allowed wanted fugitives to evade arrest alerts through bribery.

A former senior official at Interpol, who once led a sensitive commission at the international police organization’s headquarters in Lyon, France, has been arrested in the United Arab Emirates. Vitalie Pirlog is wanted by authorities in both France and his native Moldova on suspicions connected to a sprawling corruption investigation. This investigation alleges that he was involved in a scheme which enabled fugitives to have Interpol red notices—essentially arrest alerts—lifted by bribing corrupt officials.

According to a statement from the UAE’s ministry of interior, Pirlog was apprehended on a Sunday and now faces a multitude of charges including forgery, bribery, facilitating bribery, and fraud. The lawyer representing Pirlog in Chisinau, Moldova's capital, chose not to provide any comments regarding the case, and a spokesman for Interpol in France noted that Pirlog’s situation is a matter for the local authorities in the UAE.

From 2017 until 2022, Pirlog, who previously held roles as justice minister and intelligence service director in Moldova, played a crucial role at Interpol, managing the review of red notices. Following his departure from the organization, he moved to Dubai, where his activities drew the attention of French and Moldovan investigators who were probing how numerous fugitives evaded arrest notices for serious crimes such as drug trafficking.