Criticism mounts as Interpol set to elect Russian as president

FILE PHOTO - A view shows Alexander Prokopchuk, Russian candidate to head international police organisation Interpol, during a ceremony to open a monument to police in Bangkok, Thailand in this December 2015 handout photo obtained by Reuters November 20, 2018. Russian Interior Ministry/Handout via Reuters

PARIS (Reuters) - International police body Interpol is expected to elect a senior Russian official as its next president on Wednesday, in a move that has provoked alarm in Europe and the United States about the risk of Kremlin meddling.

Interpol's 194 member states, meeting in Dubai for their annual congress, will hold the election on Wednesday morning, a spokesman for the Lyon-based agency said, with a candidate needing two-thirds of the ballots cast to be elected. Multiple voting rounds are possible.