Meng Hongwei, Vice Minister of Public Security, is under investigation by the National Supervisory Commission, an anticorruption body inaugurated in March to intensify supervision over those working in the public sector.

Meng, 65, was charged with alleged bribe-taking and violations of law. He was vice minister of public security and head of China Coast Guard before being elected president of the France-based International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) in November 2016 when he retained the positions in China.

Meng has tended a written resignation to Interpol. The case demonstrates China's resolve to pursue law-based state governance and combat corruption, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.