Reuters claims: China’s missing defense minister is in custody.
Reuters, quoting 10 informed sources, claimed that Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu, who has not been seen in public for more than two weeks, has been detained and is under investigation in connection with the purchase of military equipment.
Shangfu is being investigated for purchasing military equipment, according to a regional security official and three people with direct contact with the Chinese military, but Reuters did not provide details on what type of equipment was purchased.
Also, according to two other informed sources, eight senior officials of the procurement unit of the Chinese army who were under Shangfu’s command from 2017 to 2022 are also under investigation.
A powerful disciplinary inspection commission is investigating Shangfu, who was appointed China’s defense minister in March, and eight others, the two sources said.
A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry told reporters today that he was not aware of the situation. The State Council and the Ministry of Defense of China have not reacted either.
The Financial Times also quoted US officials today and wrote that the Washington government believes that Shangfu is under investigation. He was detained for questioning last week, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a Chinese decision-maker.
Ram Emanuel, the US ambassador to Japan, asked on Twitter (X) that “Is Shangfu in custody?”
Shangfu was last seen in Beijing on August 29 during an important speech at the Security Forum with African Countries. He also traveled to Russia and Belarus earlier that month.
A spokesman for China’s Ministry of Defense said last month about the absence of Shangfu and two other former senior officials of the country’s army that “the army’s tolerance threshold for corruption is zero and intolerable.”
