UPDATE 1-Wife of missing ex-Interpol chief says arrest in China politically motivated

The wife of the missing Chinese former head of Interpol on Thursday dismissed allegations by authorities in China accusing her husband of graft and said his arrest was politically motivated.

China will prosecute former Interpol chief Meng Hongwei for graft after an investigation found he spent "lavish" amounts of state funds, abused his power and refused to follow Communist Party decisions, Beijing's anti-corruption watchdog said in a statement on Wednesday. "The press release openly reveals the political nature of Mr Meng's case, without addressing the issues concerning our family's fundamental human rights," Grace Meng said in a statement sent to Reuters by her lawyers.

Interpol, the global police coordination agency based in France, last October said Meng had resigned as its president, days after his wife reported him missing while he was on a trip to China. The Communist Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CDDI) said Meng Hongwei was suspected of taking bribes and causing serious harm to the party's image and state's interests, adding he should be severely dealt with.

Grace Meng, who has remained in Lyon, France with the couple's two children, said CCDI has failed to provide any information about Meng's whereabouts or well-being. "Instead, the CCDI made vague, general, uncorroborated statements," she said. "Chinese authorities have not formulated actual charges or adduced the alleged supporting evidence." (Reporting by Emmanuel Jarry and John Irish; editing by Grant McCool)