Meng Hongwei, who was also a vice minister of public security in China, has been accused by the Chinese government of accepting bribes and committing unspecified other crimes.
"(Meng) insisted on taking the wrong path and had only himself to blame (for his downfall)," the country's top law enforcement official, Zhao Kezhi, was quoted as saying in the statement.
Chinese authorities had previously remained tight-lipped about the whereabouts of Meng, following his sudden disappearance last month after he flew from France to China.
In an earlier statement released on Sunday, the Chinese government said Meng was "under investigation" by the National Supervisory Commission, but gave no further details on whether he was in custody or what the charges might be.
Concerns over Meng's whereabouts were first raised by wife, who reported him missing to French authorities in the city of Lyon, where the couple live, last Thursday.
She was moved to contact authorities after she received a final text message with a knife emoji and instructions to "wait for my call."
That call never came.
The South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong-based newspaper known for its connections inside the Chinese government, said Meng was "taken away" for questioning upon landing in China last week. The newspaper cited an unnamed source.
In a separate development, Interpol said it had received Meng's resignation from the international police agency with "immediate effect" according to statement posted Sunday. It made no mention of the former president's sudden disappearance or his current whereabouts.
The Chinese government statement on Monday said that Meng's fall highlighted President Xi Jinping's resolve in cleaning up the ruling Communist Party and stressed the importance of political loyalty to the Party's leadership under Xi.
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