Interpol says it has asked Chinese authorities for information about its president Meng Hongwei, who seemingly vanished on a trip to China.
The international police agency, based in France, said in a brief statement that “it looks forward to an official response from China’s authorities to address concerns over the president’s well-being”.
The Lyon-based agency said it used law enforcement channels to submit its request for information about Mr Meng’s status.
His wife says she has not heard from him since he left Lyon at the end of September.
Statement by INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock pic.twitter.com/bRXYjDMCsc
— INTERPOL (@INTERPOL_HQ) October 6, 2018
France has launched its own investigation. Authorities say he boarded a plane and arrived in China, but the 64-year-old’s subsequent whereabouts are unknown.
Mr Meng is a vice minister for public security in China.
The South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong newspaper, has suggested Mr Meng may have been the latest target of a campaign against corruption in China.
The newspaper said that on landing last week Mr 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 corruption and political disloyalty.
He is the first from his country to serve as Interpol’s president, a post that is largely symbolic but powerful in status.
Because Interpol’s secretary general is responsible for the day-to-day running of the agency’s operations, his absence may have little operational effect.
The organisation links police officials of its 192 member states, who can use Interpol to disseminate their search for a fugitive, or a missing person.
Only at the behest of a country does the information go public by a red notice, the closest thing to an international arrest warrant. Yellow notices are issued for missing persons.
He has held various positions in China’s security establishment, including as a vice minister of public security since 2004. His term as Interpol president runs until 2020.
His duties in China would have put him in close proximity to former leaders, some who fell foul of Mr Xi’s campaign. He probably dealt extensively with former security chief Zhou Yongkang, now serving a life sentence for corruption.
