Interpol President Resigns; Detained In China Over Bribery Charges

Interpol says President Meng Hongwei resigned on Sunday. Chinese authorities say they're investigating him as part of an anti-corruption campaign. Mikhail Metzel/Mikhail Metzel/TASS

Interpol President Meng Hongwei has resigned, after being detained by Chinese authorities who accuse him of corruption. The shocking turnabout comes days after Meng's wife said the career police officer had disappeared; one week ago, he left France to visit his native China.

Interpol said Meng resigned his post on Sunday, "with immediate effect." On the same day, his wife, Grace, told journalists in Lyon — where Interpol is based — that she had received a troubling text message from her husband's phone: a knife emoji. That was an ominous follow-up to an earlier message, which had asked her to wait for Meng to call.​

China's Public Security Minister Zhao Kezhi said on Monday that Meng is being investigated for allegations of bribery — charges that he did not describe in detail. Zhao said his ministry supports the inquiry; he also spoke of the importance of loyalty to the Communist Party's ideals.
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"We should deeply recognize the serious damage that Meng Hongwei's bribe-taking and suspected violations of the law have caused the party and the cause of public security and deeply learn from this lesson," Zhao said, in a translation by The Associated Press.

NPR

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