Former Interpol chief Meng Hongwei is under investigation for suspected bribery, China’s Ministry of Public Security said in a statement on its website on Monday.
On Sunday, Interpol, the France-based global police coordination body, said that Meng had resigned as its president. Earlier on Sunday, China said it was investigating Meng, who is also a vice minister for public security in China, for suspected violations of the law.
“The investigation against Meng Hongwei’s taking bribes and suspected violations of law is very timely, absolutely correct and rather wise,” the ministry said in a statement following an internal meeting.
Meng, the first Chinese president of Interpol, was last heard from on September 25 as he left Lyon — where the international police organisation is based — for China.
His disappearance was disclosed by French officials on Friday but China had remained tight-lipped about his status until now.
Meng had lived with his wife and two children in France since being elected Interpol president in 2016.
The agency´s secretary general Juergen Stock, who oversees day-to-day operations, said Saturday that it was seeking "clarification" on his whereabouts from Chinese authorities.
It is the latest high-profile disappearance in China, where a number of top government officials, billionaire business magnates and even an A-list celebrity have vanished for weeks or months at a time. When — or if —they reappear, it is often in court.
Speaking to reporters Sunday in France, Meng´s wife said she feared that her husband´s life was in danger.
"This matter belongs to the international community," Meng told a press conference.