Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov arrested at French airport; here's why – Firstpost

The co-founder and CEO of the Telegram app Pavel Durov was arrested on Saturday evening at Bourget airport outside Paris. According to the TF1 According to reports, the co-founder of the messaging app was about to board his private jet when he was arrested on an arrest warrant.

The 39-year-old billionaire reportedly travelled from Azerbaijan and was arrested at around 8 p.m. local time. The Russian-born tech mogul lives in Dubai, where the messaging app is based, and holds dual citizenship of France and the United Arab Emirates.

Russian Embassy investigates the matter

According to an estimate by Forbes, The Russian businessman has a fortune of a whopping $15.5 billion. Durov left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with the Russian government's demands to close opposition communities on his social media platform VK. However, the billionaire eventually sold the platform.

Telegram has not yet responded to the matter. In the meantime, the Russian Embassy in France is taking “immediate steps” to clarify the situation. According to a Russian news portal CupAlthough the country's embassy has not received any appeals from Durov's team, it is taking “proactive, immediate steps.”

Durov and his brother Nikolai founded the famous messaging app back in 2013. Over the years, Telegram has gained over 900 million active users. It emerged as an alternative to Meta's Whatsapp and offers end-to-end encrypted messaging. Users can also set up “channels” to quickly distribute information to followers.

Interestingly, Telegram was banned in Russia back in 2018 after Durov refused to hand over user data to the government, but the ban was lifted in 2021.

Why was he arrested?

Accordingly TF1Durov was reportedly arrested for Telegram's lack of moderation, lack of cooperation with law enforcement and the tools offered by the app. According to the reports, French authorities believe that access to malicious elements makes the app an “accomplice to drug trafficking, pedophile crimes and fraud.”

It is important to note that the arrest warrant on the basis of which the billionaire was arrested was only valid if he entered the national territory. “He made a mistake tonight. We don't know why… Was this flight just a stopover? In any case, he is in custody!” said a source close to the investigation. TF1French news agencies said Durov had been informed of the impending arrest warrant.

The co-founder will now be brought before an investigating judge before potentially being charged with a variety of crimes: terrorism, drugs, aiding and abetting, fraud, money laundering, receiving stolen goods, paedocriminal content, etc. According to TF1The charges could be brought as late as Sunday.

“Pavel Durov will certainly end up in custody,” one of the commentators told the French news channel. “On his platform, he has allowed an incalculable number of offenses and crimes to be committed in which he neither did anything nor participated,” he added.

With inputs from agencies.