Interpol Adds ‘Founder’ to List of High-Risk Job Titles
Interpol now considers “founder” a high-risk title after a surge in startup leaders quietly relocating to non-extradition countries.
LYON, FRANCE — Following a noticeable uptick in tech executives mysteriously vanishing just before their scheduled court dates, Interpol has formally classified the term “Founder” as a high-risk job title, placing it alongside known designations such as “arms dealer,” “drug trafficker,” and “former procurement official.”
The announcement comes after internal data showed a “statistically suspicious correlation” between the words “co-founder” on LinkedIn profiles and sudden cross-border movements to countries with no extradition treaties and excellent ocean views.
“Historically, we’ve focused on red flags like multiple passports or unexplained offshore accounts,” said Interpol spokesperson Claire Marchand during a press briefing. “But we realized we were overlooking the most reliable indicator of flight risk: ‘building the future of fintech in Southeast Asia.’”
Under the updated policy, Interpol analysts will now run proactive scans across social platforms and fundraising databases for suspect phrases including “currently fundraising,” “building for the next billion,” and “stealth mode,” which officials note can sometimes mean “already hiding in Dubai.”
“We don’t judge innovation,” said Marchand. “But when a nation’s most patriotic startup leaders keep patriotically running away, we start to connect dots.”
Marchand confirmed that the update was prompted in part by recent cases involving high-profile Indonesian founders, whose enthusiastic patriotism at local tech summits was matched only by their sudden inability to return WhatsApp messages from prosecutors.
An internal memo leaked from Interpol’s Lyon headquarters warns officers to treat all “founder‑adjacent titles,” including serial entrepreneur, ecosystem builder, and impact‑driven visionary, as potential aliases.
The move has caused mild panic in venture‑capital circles. Several investors complained that the new classification could stigmatize entrepreneurship and deter innovation.
“This is classic overreach,” said Raymond Chen, partner at Atlas Frontier Ventures. “If you criminalize founders, who’s going to disrupt things? Government? Please.”
Others see opportunity. One Singapore‑based due‑diligence firm reported a surge in requests for “fugitive‑risk scoring,” a new service that assesses a founder’s likelihood of fleeing before IPO. The model weighs variables like family wealth, international school attendance, and whether the person has ever used the phrase strategic relocation.
Meanwhile, legal consultants have begun offering “pre‑exile compliance packages,” which include crisis‑communication templates and discounted serviced apartments in Doha.
Interpol concluded its press release by emphasizing that the update is not intended to discourage entrepreneurship, but to “remind the global public that not every ‘exit’ is a corporate success story.”
When asked if other titles such as “Special Staff to the Minister” or “Family Office Strategist” would also be considered high-risk, officials said they were “under active review.”
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