Meng Hongwei, former head of Interpol, expelled from the Party

The Disciplinary Committee accuses him of abusing power for personal gains and for having used state money for his family. The hopeless requests of Grace, Meng's wife, from Interpol and President Emmanuel Macron.

Beijing (AsiaNews) - Meng Hongwei, former head of Interpol, has been expelled from the Chinese Communist Party for "serious violations of the law and discipline".

Meng, 65, had been a member of the Central Committee and deputy minister for public security. Today the Disciplinary Inspection Commission  announced his removal from all charges and the blocking of his assets related to corruption charges and the opening of an investigation against him.

He is accused of abusing his position of power for personal advantages and for having financed an "extravagant" lifestyle of his family with public money.

Meng disappeared last October during a trip to China. His wife Grace, who lives in Lyon (France), where interpol is based, had appealed for news, but received no help. She had also appealed to French President Emmanuel Macron, fearing for her husband's life.

Just two days ago Macron met with Xi Jinping, with whom he signed contracts worth 40 billion euros. Although he told the media that he had talked to Xi about some human rights situations, there is no evidence that he talked about Meng to Xi.

Meng worked for 40 years in Public Security, until the post of deputy minister. He is one of the "tigers" that Xi Jinping wanted to target in his campaign against corruption. Before him, six years ago another leading figure in security was hit, Zhou Yongkang.

Meng had become vice-minister of security and head of Interpol in China in 2004. In November 2016 he was appointed president of Interpol, the first Chinese to hold this position in an international police body.

• China
• France
• Economy
• Meng Hongwei
• Xi Jinping
• Corruption
• Chinese Communist Party
• Zhou Yongkang
• Interpol