China confirms detention of Interpol chief Meng Hongwei

TIL Desk/World/Beijing/ China has confirmed it is holding the missing head of Interpol, Meng Hongwei. Beijing said he was under investigation by the country’s anti-corruption body for unspecified breaches of the law. Meng, also a vice-minister of public security in China, was reported missing after travelling from the city of Lyon in France, where Interpol is based, to China on 25 September.

Interpol said it had received his resignation from the presidency on Sunday with immediate effect. China’s National Supervision Commission, which handles corruption cases involving public servants, said Meng was under investigation in a statement on its website. Meng is the latest high-profile disappearance in China, where a number of top government officials, billionaires and even an A-list celebrity have vanished in recent months.

Earlier this week, actress Fan Bingbing, who disappeared in China in July, emerged with a public apology and a fine of 883 million yuan ($129 million) for tax evasion and other offences. In a statement on its Twitter site, it said it had received the resignation with immediate effect. Under its terms it has appointed senior vice-president Kim Jong-yang of South Korea as acting president. A new president will be elected for the remaining two years of Meng’s mandate at the general assembly in Dubai next month.