Chinese ex-Interpol president Meng Hongwei to face trial in Tianjin
- Official accused of taking ‘huge amounts of bribes’, Supreme People’s Procuratorate says on conclusion of its investigation
- Case passed to the Tianjin No 1 Intermediate People’s Court where Meng will stand trial
Meng Hongwei, the Chinese former president of Interpol, has been formally charged and will face trial in Tianjin, the country’s top prosecutor said on Friday.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate said on its website that its investigation had concluded and that Meng’s case had been passed to the Tianjin No 1 Intermediate People’s Court to make the trial arrangements.
Meng, who became Interpol’s chief in 2016, disappeared in September while on a visit to China from France. Beijing later confirmed he had been detained on suspicion of corruption.
In its announcement, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, China’s top prosecution agency, said Meng was accused of taking “huge amounts of bribes” when he was a vice-minister of public security and head of China’s Maritime Police Bureau.
He was also accused of “currying favour for others” by taking advantage of his positions.
“The amounts of bribes [Meng took] were huge and he should face criminal charges in accordance with the law,” it said.
Meng was expelled from the Communist Party in March and stripped of his membership of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a national advisory body, in November.
Meng’s wife, Grace, who lives in France, has made repeated calls to French President Emmanuel Macron to intervene on her husband’s behalf.