Ex-Reuters correspondent held in China

A spokesman for the UK Foreign Office said on Saturday: “We are aware of the arrest of a British national in Shanghai, China on the 10th of July. We are providing consular assistance to the family.”

Humphrey has spent 37 years involved with China and Eastern European countries. After two decades as a correspondent with Reuters in Asia, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, he has spent the past 14 years as a risk management specialist and corporate detective focused on white-collar crime prevention, fraud investigation and crisis mitigation for multinationals in Asia. A fluent Mandarin speaker, he is managing director of ChinaWhys, a Hong Kong-based investigation firm founded in 2003 by him and his wife, a specialist in forensic accounting.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Chinese authorities did not respond to requests for comment. It said Humphrey’s mobile phones were switched off and he did not respond to e-mail messages. “It is unclear where he is being held, whether he has been charged, or if he has retained a lawyer.” Reasons for his detention were unclear.

The Journal said that, according to people familiar with the matter, one of his clients was GlaxoSmithKline which is under investigation in China for alleged bribery and related charges.

Humphrey’s detention had caused concern among investigation firms working in China. Executives at other due-diligence firms said Beijing was growing less tolerant of their activity, it added. ■