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Chinese court sentences ex-Interpol chief to 13.5 years behind bars — media

According to the TV channel, the defendant expressed no desire to appeal the verdict

BEIJING, January 21. /TASS/. On Tuesday, the Tianjin Intermediate People’s Court in northern China sentenced Interpol’s ex-chief and China’s former Public Security Vice-Minister Meng Hongwei to 13 years and six months in prison, China Central Television reported.

According to the TV network, the defendant expressed no desire to appeal the verdict and did not lodge an appeal against the decision. He will also have to pay a two-mln yuan fine (about $292,000 at the current exchange rate).

Meng Hongwei is charged with corruption and abuse of office. According to investigators, while in office, he pocketed bribes to the tune of 14.46 mln yuan ($2.1 mln).

On October 7, 2018, the Chinese authorities announced that Meng Hongwei had been detained on suspicion of breaking the law. The Chinese Public Security Ministry said that the former Interpol head was suspected of corruption and other crimes.

In March 2019, the Chinese leadership expelled him from the Communist Party, dismissing him from all government positions. On April 24, China’s Supreme People’s Prosecutor’s Office decided to take him into custody.

China’s battle against corruption began to pick up steam after the "fifth generation" of leaders headed by Xi Jinping came to power in 2012. Both ordinary officials and high-ranking public officers have been stripped of their positions and sentenced to prison terms over the past few years as part of the large-scale anti-corruption campaign.

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