World's Most Wanted features five criminals wanted for crimes like terrorist attacks, leading organized crime groups, and funding genocides. Watching the Netflix show, however, has left true-crime junkies wondering whether there is an official list of the "World's Most Wanted" that the five subjects have been taken from.
The answer is yes and no. A "world's most wanted" list was once put together by Forbes magazine, which featured three of the five subjects of the Netflix documentary. However, that list has not been updated since 2011—and since that time, one of the people on the list has been killed while another has been jailed.
Russian Mafia boss Semion Mogilevich, Casa Nostra head Matteo Messina Denaro and suspected Rwandan genocide financier Félicien Kabuga (who was arrested earlier this year) were on that list and all appear in World's Most Wanted. The full list is as follows:
- Joaquìn "El Chapo" Guzmàn, former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel - Captured (for the third time) on January 8, 2016
- Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda
- Dawood Ibrahim, leader of D-Company crime syndicate
- Semion Mogilevich
- Nasir al-Wuhayshi, leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula - Killed in a June 2015 drone strike of Yemen
- Matteo Messina Denaro
- Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, called a "major figure in international Eurasian Organized Crime" by the FBI
- Felicien Kabuga
- Joseph Kony, leader of guerilla group the Lord's Resistance Army
- Doku Umarov, Islamic extremist militant in Yemen
Since then, no-one has compiled a 'world's most wanted' list. However, there are two major lists of most wanted criminals that true crime fans might want to be aware of.
The FBI has a constantly updating list of its Ten Most Wanted fugitives, which has previously included notorious criminals like Ted Bundy and Osama Bin Laden. At the time of writing, the list is as follows:
- Eugene Palmer, wanted for the murder of his daughter in law
- Rafael Caro-Quintero, a former cartel leader wanted for murdering and kidnapping four people, including a DEA agent
- Robert William Fisher, wanted for the murder of his wife and their two children
- Bhadreshkumar Chetanbhai Patel, wanted for stabbing and killing his wife
- Alejandro Rosales Castillo, wanted for the murder of his ex-girlfriend
- Arnoldo Jimenez, wanted for murdering his wife hours after their wedding
- Jason Derek Brown, wanted for murder and armed robbery
- Yaser Abdel Said, wanted for murdering his daughters
- Alexis Flores, wanted for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of a five-year-old
- Santiago Villalba Mederos, a gang member wanted for two shootings
A more global most-wanted list comes via Interpol, who issue Red Notices for people wanted in relation to being prosecuted or serving a sentence. At the time of writing, there are over 7,300 of these issued. One of those Red Notices has been issued for World's Most Wanted subject, so-called "White Widow" and suspected terrorist Samantha Lewthwaite.
World's Most Wanted was streaming now on Netflix.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
