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Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, was arrested by France following an arrest warrant

Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of messaging service Telegram, was arrested as he disembarked from his private jet on the tarmac of Paris' Le Bourget airport, French broadcaster TF1 reported on Saturday.

OFMIN, part of the French national criminal police's national directorate, had issued an arrest warrant for Durov, a French-Russian national, on suspicion of non-cooperation with law enforcement and aiding and abetting drug trafficking, educational crimes and fraud, TF1 reported.

Durov, 39, was reportedly arrested at 8pm French time after flying in from Azerbaijan. The arrest warrant against Durov was only valid when he was on French soil. As a result, TF1 reported that Durov travelled via the United Arab Emirates, former Soviet states and South America to avoid arrest in Europe. He also reportedly avoided travelling through countries where Telegram is monitored.

“He made a big mistake tonight,” a source familiar with the investigation told TF1. “We don't know why… Was this flight just a stopover? In any case, he is in custody.”

TF1 reported that investigators from the French anti-fraud agency took Durov into custody and the CEO will appear in court on Saturday evening before possible charges are filed on Sunday. The alleged offenses include terrorism, drug trafficking, fraud, money laundering, receiving stolen goods and others.

TF1 claimed that the businessman faces up to 20 years in prison.

Violence and terrorism are spreading on Telegram. (Source: Screenshots from Telegram)

“Pavel Durov will certainly end up in custody,” the source told TF1/LCI. “On [Telegram]he allowed an incalculable number of offenses and crimes to be committed without doing anything to mitigate them.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the Russian Embassy in France had taken the necessary steps to clarify the situation surrounding Durov, TASS reported.

Vladislav Davankov, deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma, spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and called for Durov's release.

Russia's representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, tweeted: “Some naive people still do not understand that it is not safe for them to visit countries that are moving towards more totalitarian societies, even if they play a more or less visible role in the international information space.”

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American commentator Tucker Carlson tweeted that Durov was arrested for trying to “exercise his freedom of expression.”

“Pavel Durov sits in a French prison tonight, a living warning to all platform owners who refuse to censor the truth at the behest of governments and intelligence agencies. Darkness is rapidly descending upon the once free world.”

Telegram controversies

Telegram, based in Dubai, was founded by Russian-born Durov, who left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with demands to close opposition communities on his social media platform VK, which he later sold.

Durov, whose fortune is estimated at $15.5 billion by Forbes, said some governments have tried to put pressure on him, but the app, which now has 900 million active users, should remain a “neutral platform” and not a “player in geopolitics.”

Telegram was recently embroiled in controversy after Durov said in an interview that the app only employs about 30 engineers. This comment, made in an interview with Tucker Carlson in April 2024, raised concerns about Telegram's underinvestment in user privacy and security.

Telegram's moderation policies have reportedly been lax since the app's launch, and the app's privacy and encryption policies are known to attract groups seeking to spread hateful content. The platform has faced issues with misinformation and hate speech, particularly anti-Semitic speech, after October 7, 2023.

The Media Line and Reuters contributed to this report.



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