KUALA LUMPUR – Telegram founder and chief executive officer Pavel Durov was arrested by French authorities at an airport north of Paris yesterday.
The arrest was made after the Franco-Russian billionaire’s private jet landed at Le Bourget Airport, as reported by French media.
Durov was expected to appear in court today.
According to the BBC, officials said that the 39-year-old was detained under a warrant linked to offences associated with the popular messaging app.
Russia’s embassy in France is “taking immediate steps” to clarify the situation, according to the state news agency TASS.
French TV channel TF1 reported that Durov was travelling on his private jet when the incident occurred.
Reports also indicated that France’s OFMIN, the agency dedicated to the prevention of violence against minors, has allegedly issued an arrest warrant for Durov.
This warrant is part of a preliminary investigation into various alleged offences, including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organised crime, and the promotion of terrorism.
According to Reuters, several media agencies are reporting that the investigation was focused on a lack of moderators on Telegram, and that police considered that this situation allowed criminal activity to go on undeterred on the messaging app.
“Enough of Telegram’s impunity,” said one of the investigators, adding they were surprised Durov came to Paris knowing he was a wanted man.
Telegram is especially popular in Russia, Ukraine, and former Soviet states. The app was banned in Russia in 2018 after Durov refused to provide user data to authorities, but the ban was lifted in 2021.
Telegram is now considered one of the leading social media platforms, alongside Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and WeChat.
Durov founded Telegram in 2013 and left Russia in 2014 after resisting government pressure to shut down opposition groups on his VKontakte social network, which he eventually sold. – August 25, 2024