On April 28, the Interpol General Secretariat unanimously issued a Red Notice for Alexandre Benalla, former head of the French Presidential Security Service, placing him on the international wanted list. The decision followed a 2024 request by Azerbaijan’s State Security Service in connection with a bribery and corruption case involving the assets of Russian billionaire of Azerbaijani origin, Farhad Ahmadov.

The Azerbaijani State Security Service’s investigation, launched in 2024, accuses Benalla and Anass Derraz, vice president of the French company SAUR, of accepting substantial bribes in 2018 to facilitate the lifting of international sanctions on Ahmadov’s assets, including his luxury yacht, Luna.

According to reports, Ahmadov allegedly transferred millions of dollars to Derraz’s account at Al Hilal Bank and Benalla’s account at Bank of Africa United Kingdom PLC SC PAR. Derraz, apprehended by Azerbaijani authorities, remains under investigation in Baku and is banned from leaving the country.

A formal request for an international search for Benalla was submitted to Interpol, and the Red Notice, issued in April 2025 after a thorough legal procedure, was communicated to all member states. Benalla is reportedly undergoing extradition proceedings in a third country.