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DOSSIER – In this archival photo of July 4, 2017, Interpol President, Meng Hongwei, delivers his opening address at the Interpol World Congress in Singapore. A French judicial officer announced on Friday, October 5, 2018 that the president of Interpol would be missing after his trip to China. (Wong Maye-E, Associated Press / Dossier)
PARIS – The president of Interpol, a former top Chinese security official, was reported missing after his trip to his native country in late September, a French judicial official said Friday.
Meng Hongwei's wife reported Friday that she had not heard from her 64-year-old husband since leaving Lyon, France, where Interpol is based, the official said on condition of anonymity. detail of an ongoing investigation.
The French official said Meng had arrived in China. Meng's agenda in China was not known or what drove his wife to wait until now to signal his absence.
In a statement, Interpol said it was aware of reports of Meng's disappearance and said: "This is a matter for the competent French and Chinese authorities". operations of the police agency.
The news of the Meng disappearance investigation was announced during a week-long holiday in China. In Beijing, the foreign affairs and public security ministries did not immediately respond to calls and sent requests for comments by fax on Friday.
Meng was elected president of Interpol in November 2016. His term runs until 2020.
He has held various positions in Chinese security, including as Deputy Minister of Public Security – the National Police – since 2004. In the meantime, he has held the positions of Chief and Deputy Chief of branches of the Coast Guard posts at Interpol.
Meng's duties in China would have placed him close to former leaders, some of whom had been victims of President Xi Jinping's fierce crackdown on corruption. In particular, Meng has probably dealt a lot with former security chief Zhou Yongkang, who is currently serving a life sentence for corruption.
Xi also gave priority to the return of officials and businessmen accused of fraud and corruption from abroad, which makes Meng's position even more sensitive.
When Meng was elected president of Interpol in 2016, human rights groups worried that he would pursue a politicized policing program aimed at opponents of Xi.
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Bodeen reported from Beijing.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
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