The French authorities stated that they closed the investigation into the disappearance and subsequent detention in China of the former President of Interpol and found no evidence to support his wife’s allegations that she had received a threatening phone call after her husband’s detention.
Grace Maine, Meng Hongwei‘s wife, spoke in detail about the menacing appeal in an interview with the Associated Press in October. She said the caller only told her to listen but not to speak and threaten: “We’ve come to two working groups, two working groups just for you.”
A staff member close to the French investigation said that the police in Lyon, where Interpol headquarters was located, had closed the case without finding evidence that the crime had been committed in France.
Meng Hongwei, who was the Vice Minister of public security of China, as well as the head of Interpol, was detained during a trip to China in September. A longtime member of the CPC, with many years of experience in the sprawling security apparatus of China, is the latest high-ranking official who was the victim of a radical cleansing against corrupt or disloyal officials during the administration of President XI Jinping.
The Chinese authorities said that a legal investigation was under way against Meng Hongwei for bribery and other crimes. However, his wife says that the accusation of bribery is only an excuse for prolonged detention, and that he is persecuted for political reasons. On 25 September, he allegedly sent her a text message from China stating that he might be in danger.
Grace Meng said that the man whose night call scared her in early October gave only one clue to his identity: he allegedly worked for Maine, suggesting that this man was part of China’s security apparatus. He also said he knew where she was.
The French police subsequently investigated the call, but decided there was no evidence of the threat, or that the crime had been committed, an official close to the investigation said.
