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Former Interpol’s head ‘confesses’ to accepting $2M in bribes in Chinese court; Meng Hongwei ‘Disappeared’ into detention while visiting China from France last year

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"109460728"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"1">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div><header class&equals;"article&lowbar;&lowbar;header">&NewLine;<section class&equals;"article&lowbar;&lowbar;headline-section">&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"postid-13976210"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;262121&semi;"><strong>Elected president of the international police organization in 2016&comma; Meng Hongwei disappeared after traveling to China from Interpol headquarters in France at the end of September&comma; 2018<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"postid-13976210"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;262121&semi;"><strong>He was taken into custody for abusing his positions&comma; including as a vice minister of public security and maritime police chief&comma; to curry favor in return for bribes<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"postid-13976210"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;262121&semi;"><strong>INTERPOL was not informed of Meng’s detention and was forced to ask China about his whereabouts<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"postid-13976210"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;262121&semi;"><strong>The former Interpol president Meng Hongwei confessed to accepting more than &dollar;2 million in bribes and expressed regret for his crime <&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"postid-13976210"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;262121&semi;"><strong>Meng who retained his title as a vice minister of public security while serving at Interpol&comma; has been fired from his positions and kicked out of the Communist Party&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"postid-13976210"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;262121&semi;"><strong>Suspicions Meng had fallen out of political favor with president Xi Jinping&comma; who&&num;8217&semi;s come down hard on corruption and perceived disloyalty <&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"postid-13976210"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;262121&semi;"><strong>The former police chief&&num;8217&semi;s wife Grace has accused Chinese authorities of creating a &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;fake case” against him for political reasons<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"postid-13976210"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;262121&semi;"><strong>Observers say move is calculated to strengthen party control while bringing down potential challengers to Xi&&num;8217&semi;s authority <&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"postid-13976210"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;262121&semi;"><strong>Meng has been replaced as Interpol chief by South Korea&&num;8217&semi;s Kim Jong-yang<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<div id&equals;"featured-image-wrapper">&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"wp-caption-text featured"><img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-322069" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;06&sol;Weng-Hongwei-3&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Weng Hongwei 3" width&equals;"1302" height&equals;"865" &sol;><strong>Former president of Interpol Meng Hongwei &lbrack;photo&rsqb; allegedly <span style&equals;"color&colon; var&lpar;--color-text&rpar;&semi;">confessed to accepting more than &dollar;2 million in bribes during his time as vice-minister for public security in China&comma; and expressed regret for his crime&comma; in a Chinese court on Thursday<&sol;span><&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"wp-caption-text featured"><span style&equals;"color&colon; var&lpar;--color-text&rpar;&semi;">Former Interpol president Meng Hongwei of China confessed to accepting more than &dollar;2 million in bribes and expressed regret for his crime&comma; a the country&&num;8217&semi;s courts said Thursday&period;<&sol;span><&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"entry-content entry-content-read-more">&NewLine;<p>An announcement from the premier Intermediate Court in the Chinese northeastern port city of Tianjin said Meng read a statement containing the confession at a hearing&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;That move assures a conviction&comma; although it isn’t immediately clear when a verdict and sentence would be handed down&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Admitting guilt and expressing regret can result in slightly lighter punishment&comma; although China has been quick to hand out life sentences as it cracks down on corruption and political disloyalty under a campaign run directly by the president and head of the ruling Communist Party&comma; Xi Jinping&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Elected president of the international police organization in 2016&comma; Meng disappeared after traveling to China from his base in Lyon&comma; France at the end of September&period; It later turned out the head the global police agency had been detained on charges of abuse of office and graft&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;ronmat96&period;fxexperts&period;hop&period;clickbank&period;net"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;wallstreet-forex&period;com&sol;images&sol;banners&sol;wsfr&lowbar;2&lowbar;evolution&lowbar;768x90&lowbar;1&period;&period;jpg" rel&equals;"prettyPhoto"><&sol;a><br &sol;>&NewLine;Interpol was not informed of Meng’s detention and was forced to ask China  to account for Meng&comma; just as his wife Grace was raising a storm over her husband&&num;8217&semi;s whereabouts&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The Tianjin court said Meng had abused his positions&comma; including as a vice minister of public security and maritime police chief&comma; to curry favor for others in return for bribes&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The disgraced law man was shown on television wearing a plain brown windbreaker and flanked by two bailiffs&comma; Meng appeared older and grayer than during his time as one of the nation’s top law enforcement officers&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;He had already been fired from his positions and kicked out of the Communist Party&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h6><img class&equals;"alignnone size-full wp-image-322067" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;06&sol;Grace-Meng-1&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Grace Meng 1" width&equals;"1000" height&equals;"668" &sol;><strong>Grace Meng talks to journalists in 2018 in Lyon&comma; during a press conference in which she did not want her face to be shown&period; <&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"connatix">Meng Hongwei&comma; a former vice-minister for public security in China who rose through the ranks of the country&&num;8217&semi;s feared security apparatus&comma; was the first Chinese head of the international police organisation&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Meng was appointed vice-minister of security in 2004 by Zhou Yongkang&comma; China&&num;8217&semi;s former security czar who was sentenced to life in prison in 2015 for bribery&comma; abuse of power and leaking state secrets&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;While serving at Interpol&comma; Meng retained his title as a vice minister of public security&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;There are suspicions that he had fallen out of political favor with president Xi&comma; who has come down hard on corruption and perceived disloyalty in what observers say is calculated to strengthen party control while bringing down potential challengers to his authority&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;ronmat96&period;gaming777&period;hop&period;clickbank&period;net"><img class&equals;"" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;gamingjobsonline&period;com&sol;images&sol;banner&sol;250&sol;250x250-2&period;jpg" rel&equals;"prettyPhoto"><&sol;a><a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;ronmat96&period;gaming777&period;hop&period;clickbank&period;net"><img class&equals;"" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;gamingjobsonline&period;com&sol;images&sol;banner&sol;250&sol;250x250-1&period;jpg" rel&equals;"prettyPhoto"><&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Meng’s wife&comma; Grace has remained in the French city of Lyon&comma; the site of Interpol&&num;8217&semi;s headquarters&comma; since her husband Meng Hongwei disappeared&comma; later revealed to have been arrested&comma; while visiting China in September&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Grace Meng has accused Chinese authorities of creating a &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;fake case” against him for political reasons&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;She told French media that she fears for her life and that of their twin sons&comma; despite being under French police protection&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8220&semi;I need the French government to protect me&comma; to assist me&comma; to help me and my children&comma;&&num;8221&semi; she said&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8220&semi;I am afraid of being kidnapped&period;&&num;8221&semi;<br &sol;>&NewLine;She has since applied for asylum&period;<&sol;p><&sol;div>&NewLine;<h6><img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-322068" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;06&sol;meng-Hongwei-left-with-president-Xi-Jinping-right-1&period;jpg" alt&equals;"meng Hongwei &lbrack;left&rsqb; with president Xi Jinping &lbrack;right&rsqb; 1" width&equals;"785" height&equals;"521" &sol;><strong>Observers suspect Meng &lbrack;left&rsqb;&comma; had fallen out of political favor with president Xi Jinping&comma; &lbrack;right&rsqb; who&&num;8217&semi;s come down hard on corruption and perceived disloyalty<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<p>He was last heard from on September 25 as he left Lyon for China&comma; when he sent his wife a social media message telling her to &&num;8220&semi;wait for my call&comma;&&num;8221&semi; and then a knife emoji signifying danger&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<iframe style&equals;"border&colon; none&semi;" src&equals;"&sol;&sol;rcm-na&period;amazon-adsystem&period;com&sol;e&sol;cm&quest;o&equals;1&amp&semi;p&equals;48&amp&semi;l&equals;ur1&amp&semi;category&equals;carelectronics&amp&semi; banner&equals;1AXZ8SQTB92AHHR8P0R2&amp&semi;f&equals;ifr&amp&semi;linkID&equals;297c69c0e75438a57e09602b10dc5412&amp&semi;t&equals; konniemomen0a-20&amp&semi;tracking&lowbar;id&equals;konniemomen0a-20" width&equals;"728" height&equals;"90" frameborder&equals;"0" marginwidth&equals;"0" scrolling&equals;"no"><&sol;iframe><br &sol;>&NewLine;Grace Meng later reported he was missing&comma; and after several days without news Interpol said it had received a short message from Meng saying he was resigning&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;She later revealed that two Chinese businessmen&comma; one of whom she knew&comma; had visited her at home in early October&comma; before China revealed her husband had been arrested&comma; and invited her to travel with them by private jet to the Czech Republic&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;They were seeking advice on investment from Grace a trained economist&comma; but she turned them down the request to travel&colon; &&num;8220&semi;That&&num;8217&semi;s what I call a kidnap attempt&comma;&&num;8221&semi; she said&comma; adding that this was when she asked for police protection&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;She also said that in late October the Chinese consulate in Lyon said they had a letter for her from her husband&comma; but insisted she show up in person to collect it&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<iframe style&equals;"width&colon; 120px&semi; height&colon; 240px&semi;" src&equals;"&sol;&sol;ws-na&period;amazon-adsystem&period;com&sol;widgets&sol;q&quest;ServiceVersion&equals;20070822&amp&semi;OneJS&equals;1&amp&semi; Operation&equals;GetAdHtml&amp&semi;MarketPlace&equals;US&amp&semi;source&equals;ac&amp&semi;ref&equals;qf&lowbar;sp&lowbar;asin&lowbar;til&amp&semi;ad&lowbar;type&equals; product&lowbar;link&amp&semi;tracking&lowbar;id&equals;konniemomen0a-20&amp&semi;marketplace&equals;amazon&amp&semi;region&equals;US&amp&semi;placement &equals;B077M8MV22&amp&semi;asins&equals;B077M8MV22&amp&semi;linkId&equals;dd9b2505b6a7e917a89a13cc0fd19fcb&amp&semi;show&lowbar;border &equals;false&amp&semi;link&lowbar;opens&lowbar;in&lowbar;new&lowbar;window&equals;false&amp&semi;price&lowbar;color&equals;333333&amp&semi;title&lowbar;color&equals;0066C0&amp&semi; bg&lowbar;color&equals;FFFFFF" frameborder&equals;"0" marginwidth&equals;"0" marginheight&equals;"0" scrolling&equals;"no"><br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;iframe><iframe style&equals;"width&colon; 120px&semi; height&colon; 240px&semi;" src&equals;"&sol;&sol;ws-na&period;amazon-adsystem&period;com&sol;widgets&sol;q&quest;ServiceVersion&equals;20070822&amp&semi;OneJS&equals;1&amp&semi; Operation&equals;GetAdHtml&amp&semi;MarketPlace&equals;US&amp&semi;source&equals;ac&amp&semi;ref&equals;qf&lowbar;sp&lowbar;asin&lowbar;til&amp&semi;ad&lowbar;type&equals; product&lowbar;link&amp&semi;tracking&lowbar;id&equals;konniemomen0a-20&amp&semi;marketplace&equals;amazon&amp&semi;region&equals;US&amp&semi;placement &equals;B01LC8A37I&amp&semi;asins&equals;B01LC8A37I&amp&semi;linkId&equals;14e1ba5e68f94f0d1393f1ad4219d434&amp&semi;show&lowbar;border &equals;false&amp&semi;link&lowbar;opens&lowbar;in&lowbar;new&lowbar;window&equals;false&amp&semi;price&lowbar;color&equals;333333&amp&semi;title&lowbar;color&equals;0066c0&amp&semi; bg&lowbar;color&equals;ffffff" frameborder&equals;"0" marginwidth&equals;"0" marginheight&equals;"0" scrolling&equals;"no"><br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;iframe><iframe style&equals;"border&colon; none&semi;" src&equals;"&sol;&sol;rcm-na&period;amazon-adsystem&period;com&sol;e&sol;cm&quest;o&equals;1&amp&semi;p&equals;12&amp&semi;l&equals;ur1&amp&semi;category&equals;kuft&amp&semi;banner&equals; 07V9YHKS4HY556H67002&amp&semi;f&equals;ifr&amp&semi;lc&equals;pf4&amp&semi;linkID&equals;b201c7d221c36bec871177c26785085d&amp&semi;t&equals; konniemomen0a-20&amp&semi;tracking&lowbar;id&equals;konniemomen0a-20" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"250" frameborder&equals;"0" marginwidth&equals;"0" scrolling&equals;"no"><&sol;iframe><br &sol;>&NewLine;She asked that they hand the letter over to French police&comma; or that French police be allowed to go with her to the consulate&period; She did not receive a response&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;In the interview to French media&comma;  Franceinfo and Liberation&comma; given on January 10&comma; she said that she had received no news of her husband or of her family back home&comma; and that her Chinese phone and internet accounts had been blocked&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;She had also received &&num;8220&semi;strange phone calls&&num;8221&semi;&comma; she said&comma; and was once followed into a hotel by a Chinese couple who attempted to gather information about her&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;China&&num;8217&semi;s public security bureau has linked Meng&&num;8217&semi;s detention to a broader initiative to &&num;8220&semi;completely remove the pernicious influence&&num;8221&semi; of Zhou Yongkang&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Meng was replaced as Interpol chief by South Korea&&num;8217&semi;s Kim Jong-yang&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;section>&NewLine;<&sol;header>&NewLine;

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