Interpol president missing during trip to China

PARIS — He left his home in Lyon, France, for a visit to his homeland, and then vanished — putting the International Criminal Police Organization, best known as Interpol, at the center of its own missing persons case.

Meng Hongwei, Interpol’s president, boarded a plane and arrived in China, according to a French judicial official. But then, nothing. His wife, who put out a call Friday, said she hasn’t heard from her 64-yearold husband since the end of September, the official said.

To make matters murkier, Meng is not just the head of Interpol: He’s also a vice minister for public safety in China.

Interpol, based in Lyon, would say only that reports that its president is missing is “a matter for the relevant authorities in both France and China.”

France launched its own investigation Friday morning, according to the judicial official who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly and asked for anonymity.

Whether China was taking action was unknown. But the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong newspaper, hinted that Meng may have been the latest target of an ongoing campaign against corruption in China.

The newspaper said that upon landing last week, Meng was “taken away” for questioning by what it said were “discipline authorities.” The term usually describes investigators in the ruling Communist Party who probe graft and political disloyalty. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party’s secretive internal investigation agency, had no announcements on its website about Meng and could not be reached for comment.

Meng has held down various positions within China’s security establishment, including as a vice minister of public security — the national police force — since 2004. In the meantime, he served as head and deputy head of branches of the coast guard, all while holding positions at Interpol. His term in Lyon began in 2016 and runs until 2020.

His duties in China would have put him in close proximity to former leaders, some who had fallen afoul of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s campaign. He likely dealt extensively with former security chief Zhou Yongkang, now serving a life sentence for corruption.

Xi has placed a premium on getting officials and businesspeople accused of fraud and corruption to return from abroad, making Meng’s position even more sensitive. Meng