Interpol chief Meng Hongwei under investigation, China says

China’s antigraft watchdog said late on Sunday that the Chinese authorities were investigating Meng Hongwei, the head of the global law enforcement organization Interpol who had been reported missing, for suspected violations of the law.

Meng, who is also a vice minister of public security in China, had been reported missing by his wife after travelling last month from France, where Interpol is based, to China.

“Public Security Ministry Vice Minister Meng Hongwei is currently under investigation by the National Supervisory Commission for suspected violations of law,” the Chinese anti-graft body said in a brief statement on its website.

The statement was the first from China since Meng’s disappearance had been reported in France on Friday.

When asked about the Chinese announcement on Sunday, France’s Interior Ministry said it had no information.

The French ministry said on Friday that Meng’s family had not heard from him since Sept. 25, and the French authorities said his wife had been placed under police protection after receiving threats.

French police have been investigating what is officially termed in France a “worrying disappearance”.

Interpol had said on Friday it had asked Beijing to clarify Meng’s situation. The organization had no immediate comment on Sunday.

Earlier on Sunday, the wife of Meng Hongwei urged national governments to intervene, saying she feared that her husband’s life was in danger.

Speaking in Lyon, the southeast French city where the international police organization is based, Grace Meng said the last social media message she received from her husband came on September 25, depicting a single emoji that means “I’m in danger.”

“This matter belongs to the international community,” Meng told a press conference in English. She kept her back turned to the reporters present, and refused to be photographed out of fears for her safety.

Meng, the first Chinese president of Interpol, was last heard from on September 25 as he left Lyon for China.

That day, his wife said Sunday, he sent a social media message telling her to “wait for my call”, before sending the emoji signifying danger, Meng said. “I’m not sure what has happened to him,” she said.

Meng had lived with his wife and two children in Lyon since being elected Interpol president in 2016.

Meng resigns as Interpol chief

Hours later, Reuters quoted an Interpol statement as saying that Meng had resigned as president of the international police organization.

“Today, Sunday 7 October, (at) the Interpol General Secretariat in Lyon, France received the resignation of Mr. Meng Hongwei as President of Interpol with immediate effect,” the statement said.

Interpol added that South Korean national Kim Jong Yang would becomes its acting president, while it would appoint a new president at a Nov. 18-21 meeting of the organization in Dubai.