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Wife of Meng Hongwei, missing ex-Interpol chief, slams ‘political nature’ of his detention in China and rejects corruption claims

  • Grace Meng blasted a statement by China’s anti-corruption watchdog, which said Meng Hongwei had spent ‘lavish’ amounts of state funds and abused his power
  • Speaking from France, she said the CCDI had made ‘vague, general, uncorroborated statements’ about her husband

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In this July 4, 2017 file photo, then Interpol president Meng Hongwei walks on stage to deliver his opening address at the Interpol World Congress in Singapore. Photo: AP

The wife of Meng Hongwei, the missing Chinese former head of Interpol, on Thursday dismissed allegations by authorities in China accusing her husband of graft and said his detention was politically motivated.

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China will prosecute former Interpol chief Meng for graft after an investigation found he spent “lavish” amounts of state funds, abused his power and refused to follow Communist Party decisions, Beijing’s anti-corruption watchdog said in a statement on Wednesday.

Grace Meng (back to camera), the wife of Meng Hongwei, talks to journalists on October 7, 2018 in Lyon, France. Photo: AFP
Grace Meng (back to camera), the wife of Meng Hongwei, talks to journalists on October 7, 2018 in Lyon, France. Photo: AFP

“The press release openly reveals the political nature of Mr Meng’s case, without addressing the issues concerning our family’s fundamental human rights,” Grace Meng said in a statement issued by her lawyers.

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Interpol, the global police coordination agency based in France, said last October that Meng Hongwei had resigned as its president, days after his wife reported him missing while he was on a trip to China.

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