Avengers: Who And How Is Looking For Cars Stolen Abroad

2023 Author: Natalie MacDonald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-26 13:59

Sometimes stolen cars disappear without a trace, and sometimes they are found many, many years later. And often at the same time we come across the phrase "wanted by Interpol." What does this mean and what problems can a car owner face? Let's try to delve into the specifics of international police interaction

What is Interpol and why is it looking for cars all over the world?

Interpol is an international organization created for the interaction of police services in the search for criminals and the search for stolen goods on the territory of different states. Currently, there are 194 members of Interpol - police officers from most countries of the world are in constant contact. It is the second largest intergovernmental organization on the planet in size. Only the United Nations (UN) is larger.

The progenitor of Interpol, the International Criminal Police Commission to coordinate the efforts of individual countries in the fight against ordinary crime, was created in 1923. However, during the Second World War, its activities were actually interrupted. The international structure was revived in 1946, and its current charter has been in effect since 1956. At the same time, the International Criminal Police Organization received its abbreviated name - and is now known under the familiar name Interpol.

The headquarters of Interpol is located in France, in Lyon. There are national offices of this organization in each participating country - the department responsible for international police interaction is determined by the government of each country. In Russia, which joined Interpol in 1990, the National Central Bureau of this service operates within the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He also has regional divisions.

International police cooperation covers the entire spectrum of crimes, including theft of vehicles. Interpol maintains a common database of stolen vehicles, which is abbreviated as SMV (Stolen Motor Vehicle). However, not only stolen cars can be put on the wanted list by Interpol: it happens that the police are trying to find the car in which they committed a crime. Or they are looking for a person who witnessed a crime, but was not implicated in it.

How do cars get into the Interpol base?

Police officers of all member countries of the organization have the opportunity to put a car on the international wanted list - through their national bureau of Interpol. It is also responsible for obtaining information about vehicles wanted internationally - in order to enter them into a local database and search within their country. In Russia, the procedure for interaction with Interpol on the search for vehicles is regulated by clause V of the interdepartmental order "On approval of instructions for organizing information support for cooperation through Interpol", issued in 2006.

Do they find all the cars from the Interpol list sooner or later?

Of course, not all stolen cars can be found, because most often car thieves fake its identification markings. And sometimes it is so skillful that it takes only a couple of decades to reveal the discrepancy. A similar incident happened recently in Irkutsk: traffic police officers found several cars that had been stolen for many years and were wanted by Interpol. The record holder for the most recent absence from the rightful owner among the found cars turned out to be ToyotLand Cruiser, stolen in Moscow 18 years ago.

The meticulous Irkutsk traffic cops managed to identify the stolen cars during the verification of numbers during registration: the police sent dubious cars for examination. The forensic center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia confirmed the fact of theft.

In addition, stolen cars are often dismantled for parts - in this case, there is nothing to look for. However, the international database of stolen vehicles (SMV) should still be recognized as a fairly effective tool: according to Interpol, in 2018 alone, it helped identify about 143,000 cars as stolen. At the same time, cars stolen in Europe were found in such remote regions as Australia and South America.

Sometimes the so-called twin cars also fall into the Interpol database. Imagine that a car has already been stolen in some European country, put on it a VIN from exactly the same one, peacefully driving in Russia, and sold to another owner in the same Europe. And his "unlucky" car was stolen again!

Thus, the VIN from a car legally purchased in Russia becomes wanted. And its unsuspecting owner may face problems, including when entering abroad. Most likely, the examination will reveal that the marking on the "honest" car has not changed, but it will cost the owner time and nerves.

How do I know if my car is hijacked by the Interpol database?

Unlike people suspected of crimes, Interpol does not publish information about wanted vehicles in open access: it is believed that this data can play into the hands of hijackers who select a "clean" identification number (VIN) for a stolen car. At the same time, in Russia, by VIN-number, you can check the car for being on the federal wanted list - such a service is provided on the official website of the traffic police.

Usually, cars are checked for wanted (including international) at the stage of their import - in the process of customs clearance. Or when registering with the traffic police. However, no one canceled bureaucratic delays and all sorts of abuses: it may turn out that the customs or the new owner, who does not know about the criminal past of the car, will have time to complete all the documents before the information about its search goes to the database. In this case, unpleasant surprises and lengthy proceedings are possible.

What if my car is listed in the Interpol database?

In short: ordeals are coming, clashes with the bureaucracy of different countries, writing requests, waiting for answers, trips to the courts. And all this - without a guarantee of a positive outcome.

If the Russian police find out that your car, which you probably bought in good faith on the secondary market, is on the wanted list, then upon its discovery they will begin a pre-investigation check. During the check, investigators will find out if the current owner of the car has anything to do with its theft. It is also very likely that an examination is made to see if the identification numbers have been broken on the car. In this case, of course, the car is confiscated.

If in the end it turns out that the Russian law enforcement agencies have no claims to the current owner of the car, but the car is listed on the international wanted list, it can be issued against a safe receipt - with a note in the documents prohibiting any registration actions. That is, it will be possible to drive a car further, but it will not be possible to get rid of it. As well as going abroad: after all, the police of other countries are eagerly awaiting her there. However, sometimes it takes a lot of effort to return a car to its rightful owner, even under such conditions.

The National Bureau of Interpol, meanwhile, will inform the police authorities of the country that initiated this search that the car has been found, and will wait for an answer: what the rightful owner is going to do with it next. However, Interpol does not deal with the return of cars - the conflict between the legal owner in another country and the current owner of the car in Russia will have to be resolved through negotiations or in court. And here there are also possible scenarios for the development of events.

Firstly, the current owner of a problem car in Russia may try to shift the suddenly discovered problems onto the shoulders of the one who sold this car to him - to demand through the court to terminate the sales contract and return the money. And here it is extremely important that the seller can be found, and the amount actually paid during the transaction was in the purchase and sale agreement.

Secondly, the current owner of the car has the right to apply to the court with a request to recognize himself as a bona fide purchaser: including if a notification through Interpol that the car was found remained unanswered. If the court's decision is in favor of the current owner, they will stop looking for the car in Russia.

But in order to stop the international search, the owner will have to contact the foreign owner of the found car, with the insurance company, which has already compensated him for the damage and is now the legal owner, or with the police who have put the car on the wanted list. To do this, you can request the desired address through the Russian bureau of Interpol and try to settle the conflict amicably or in court.

At the same time, there are cases when the first owner of the car (or the insurance company that paid him compensation) refused claims in exchange for little compensation or no additional conditions at all. This is understandable, if the car is already old and cheap - bringing it back is likely to be too expensive and devoid of any sense. But it is also possible that the rightful owner from abroad will go to a Russian court, demand that the car be returned to him and receive a decision in his favor - because of the value of the car or simply out of principle. In this case, the car will have to be returned.

In order not to find yourself in such a situation, when choosing a used car, you must carefully study its entire history, check it against all possible databases and correctly arrange the sale and purchase. We describe how to do this in our Tutorial.