Paris: Pavel Durov, the Russian-French billionaire and founder of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested at Bourget airport near Paris on Saturday evening, according to TF1 TV and BFM TV, citing unnamed sources. Durov was on his private jet at the time of his arrest, TF1 reported, noting that he had been targeted by an arrest warrant as part of a preliminary police investigation in France.
The investigation centers on allegations related to the moderation practices on Telegram. Both TF1 and BFM TV indicated that authorities believe the lack of moderation has allowed criminal activities to persist on the platform. Telegram, known for its encryption and boasting nearly one billion users, holds significant influence in Russia, Ukraine, and the former Soviet republics. It is considered one of the major social media platforms alongside Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and WeChat.
Telegram did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, and neither the French Interior Ministry nor the police provided any statements on the matter.
Durov, who founded Telegram with his brother in 2013, had previously left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on his VKontakte social media platform, which he subsequently sold. “I would rather be free than to take orders from anyone,” Durov told U.S. journalist Tucker Carlson in April, reflecting on his departure from Russia and his search for a new base for his company, which included moves to Berlin, London, Singapore, and San Francisco.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Telegram has become a critical source of unfiltered and sometimes graphic content from both sides of the conflict. It is heavily utilized by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his officials, as well as the Russian government. Telegram has also become a vital outlet for independent news in Russia amidst increasing government restrictions on media.
The Russian foreign ministry announced that its embassy in Paris is working to clarify the situation surrounding Durov and has urged Western non-governmental organizations to advocate for his release. Russia had blocked Telegram in 2018 after the app refused to comply with a court order to grant state security services access to encrypted messages. Although this action disrupted third-party services, it had minimal impact on Telegram’s availability and led to mass protests in Moscow and criticism from NGOs.
TF1 reported that Durov, who has an estimated fortune of $15.5 billion according to Forbes, was traveling from Azerbaijan when he was detained around 8:00 p.m. (1800 GMT). Durov has previously stated that while some governments have attempted to pressure him, he believes the app should remain a “neutral platform” and not engage in “geopolitics”.
The rising popularity of Telegram has attracted scrutiny from several European countries, including France, over security and data privacy concerns. Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s representative to international organizations in Vienna, and other Russian officials quickly accused France of exhibiting authoritarian tendencies similar to those faced by Durov in 2014 and during the 2018 Telegram ban. “Some naive persons still don’t understand that if they play more or less visible role in international information space it is not safe for them to visit countries which move towards much more totalitarian societies,” Ulyanov wrote on X.
Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly known as Twitter), commented on the arrest by saying, “It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme.” Following the news, several Russian bloggers called for global protests at French embassies.
