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Meng Hongwei, Chinese president of Interpol, speaks in Bali in 2016. (Interpol / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock)
James McAuley
Correspondent abroad on French and European politics and culture
PARIS – French authorities have opened an investigation into the disappearance of Interpol's president, Meng Hongwei, whose wife informed the French police that he had disappeared after returning to his native China, reported Friday. local media.
Meng, a former government minister, was last seen on September 29, his wife said, according to French police officials anonymous quoted by the French radio station Europe 1. Other members of the police also confirmed the investigation to the Reuters news agency.
Interpol – headquartered in Lyon, France – is an international organization facilitating cross-border police cooperation. Meng's wife reported the disappearance of her husband to the French authorities because she was living in France with their children, said Europe 1.
A spokeswoman for the French Ministry of the Interior, who oversees the national police, did not immediately respond to a request for independent confirmation. No spokesman for the Lyon prosecutor, who oversees investigations in the region.
In a statement, Interpol only indicated that the disappearance was "French and Chinese authorities" and refused to give details.
Meng, 64, was named president of Interpol in November 2016. His term is expected to end in 2020. The first Chinese citizen to head the body, he was previously Deputy Minister of Public Security of China.
[Chinese official named head of Interpol, drawing criticism]
The circumstances of his disappearance suggest that he may have fallen into the trap of China's multi-year anti-corruption campaign, which saw thousands of officials and corporate executives suddenly disappear before resurfacing before government charges months later.
It would be a stunning reversal for Meng, who was elected to head Interpol two years ago, just as China was seeking international help to arrest corrupt officials. In recent years, China has submitted to Interpol long lists of repatriation targets and "red notices" – an international alert for a wanted person – about what it claims to be corrupt fugitives.
At the time of his appointment, human rights groups expressed concern over the opacity of the Chinese judicial system and warned that Beijing could use its influence on Interpol to arrest political dissidents.
During Meng's tenure, China has submitted "red notices" to dissenting business leaders and personalities such as Germany's Dolkun Isa, president of the Uighur-based World Congress in Munich, which represents the Uyghur minority in the country. west of China. China has described Isa as a terrorist but has not provided public evidence.
Last year, China had also asked for several red notices from Interpol calling for the arrest of Guo Wengui, a dissident billionaire who had fled to New York while he claimed hold explosive secrets on the leadership of the Communist Party.
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