Interpol president reported missing while on trip to China
Meng Hongwei has not been seen by wife since the end of September
The president of Interpol, a former senior Chinese security official, has been reported missing after he travelled to his native country at the end of September, a French judicial official said.
Meng Hongwei, 64, has not been in contact with his wife since late last month when he left Lyon, France, where Interpol is based and where their family lives, for a trip to China. She reported him missing yesterday, said the official.
It was reported that he arrived in China, and did not go missing from France.
Interpol said it was aware of reports about Mr Meng’s disa appearance and added “this is a matter for the relevant authorities in both France and China”. However, a Hong Kong newspaper cited an anonymous source saying the president of Interpol was taken away for questioning by “discipline authorities”, a term that usually describes investigators in the ruling Communist Party who probe graft and political disloyalty.
The Interpol statement noted that the organisation’s secretary-general, Jurgen Stock, and not its president, is responsible for the international police agency’s operations, while the president heads the executive committee. However, Mr Meng has made frequent appearances at crime prevention gatherings since taking on the role.
News of the investigation came during a week-long public holiday in China. The French official said he had not disappeared while still in France and did arrive in China.
spokesman for Interpol said: “Interpol is aware of media reports in connection with the alleged disappearance of Interpol president Meng Hongwei. This is a matter for the relevant authorities in both France and China.
“The secretary-general is the organisation’s full-time official responsible for the day to day running of Interpol.
“Interpol’s General Secretariat headquarters will not comment further.”
Mr Meng was elected president of Interpol in November 2016 and his term runs until 2020. He has held a variety of positions within China’s security establishment, including as a vice-minister of public security – overseeing the national police force – since 2004. He served as head and deputy head of branches of the coast guard, all while holding positions at Interpol.
Mr Meng’s duties in China would have put him in close proximity to former leaders, some of whom had fallen foul of president Xi Jinping’s sweeping crackdown on corruption. Mr Meng probably dealt extensively with former security chief Zhou Yongkang, who is now serving a life sentence for corruption.
Mr Xi has also placed a premium on obtaining the return of officials and business people accused of fraud and corruption from abroad, making Mr Meng’s position all the more sensitive.
When Mr Meng was elected in 2016 as Interpol president, succeeding French policewoman Mireille Ballestrazzi, human rights groups expressed concern that he would pursue an agenda of politicised policing that targeted Mr Xi’s opponents.