In Russia there are questions about the arrest of the Telegram CEO

Since Pavel Durov, the Russian-born billionaire and founder of the messaging app Telegram, arrested on Saturday evening upon landing in ParisThere was more speculation than facts about his fate.

A Russian newspaper's headline summed up the story: “The arrest (or detention) of 'Russian Zuckerberg' Pavel Durov is one of the most important, but also most mysterious, global headlines,” Nezavisimaya Gazeta declared.

TRUE.

However, “mysterious” is a bit of an understatement.

Why did the French police arrest him? What charges will he face? Does this have anything to do with his recent visit to Azerbaijan, where he met (or didn't meet) Russian President Vladimir Putin?

For two days, reporters have been citing “sources familiar with the investigation” about the crimes Pavel Durov may be accused of (allegedly ranging from aiding and abetting drug trafficking to fraud). A statement was published on Telegram saying that Mr. Durov has “nothing to hide.”

On Monday, a French police spokesman told Reuters that Mr Durov was being investigated by the national cybercrime unit and the national anti-fraud agency for alleged crimes on the Telegram platform.

Without going into detail, President Emmanuel Macron posted on social media that he had seen “false information” about France following Mr Durov's arrest, adding: “This is in no way a political decision. The decision is up to the judges.”

In Moscow, the Kremlin is behaving cautiously.

“We still do not know what exactly Durov is accused of,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday in his first comment on the detention of Pavel Durov.

“We have not heard any official statements. Before I can even say anything about it, we need clarity.”

Clarity is not something that everyone in Russia feels the need for.

On Monday, state television's main political talk show had a lot to say on this topic.

“All these accusations against Durov sound absurd,” a political analyst explained in the studio. “Accusing him of all the crimes committed on his platform is like accusing [France’s] President Macron for all the crimes that happen in France. It's the same logic.”

Russian newspapers also duly picked up the story. Several daily newspapers expressed fears that the arrest of Pavel Durov could have serious consequences for Russia.

“This blow against Telegram threatens to prove to be a blow against Russia as well,” wrote Nezavisimaya Gazeta. “The arrest of Pavel Durov could allow Western intelligence services to obtain the messenger's encryption keys.”

“Telegram could become a tool of NATO if Pavel Durov is forced to obey French intelligence services,” Moskovsky told Komsomolets, adding: “Telegram chats contain a huge amount of vital strategic information.”

In April 2018, Russian authorities began blocking access to Telegram, but in 2020 they lifted the ban. Today, not only Russian officials use the messenger, but also the Russian military, including soldiers fighting in the so-called “special military operation” (Russia's war in Ukraine).

“If Telegram crashes,” Moskovsky asked Komsomolets today, “how is [our army] will you fight?”

In the West, the imprisonment of Pavel Durov has sparked a debate about freedom of expression.

In Russia, the President's human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, also claimed: “The real reason for Pavel Durov's arrest was the closure of Telegram, a platform where you can find out the truth about what is happening in the world. Everyone who supports freedom of expression is protesting against this.”

Ms Moskalkova did not mention the messaging app Signal, which Russian authorities blocked access to earlier this month, or YouTube, which has since been severely restricted in Russia. Facebook and Instagram have already been blocked there.

And what about the rumors about a meeting between Putin and Durov in Baku in early August? Did such a meeting take place?

“No,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov answered my question.

Whatever the outcome of this mysterious story, Moscow will use it to reinforce one of its official narratives: that Russian citizens should beware of the West.

The well-known tabloid newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda put it this way: “For the West, there is no longer such a thing as ‘good Russians.’”