Pavel Durov, the chief executive and founder of the popular messaging app Telegram, was arrested by French police at Le Bourget airport near Paris on Monday evening.
The Franco-Russian billionaire, 39, is facing a series of serious allegations related to the operation of his platform, sources told AFP.
Durov was detained shortly after arriving in France from Baku, Azerbaijan, according to a source close to the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The arrest follows a warrant issued by France’s Office for the Prevention of Violence Against Minors (OFMIN), as part of a preliminary investigation into a wide range of alleged offences including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime, and the promotion of terrorism.
The charges against Durov stem from accusations that he has failed to take adequate measures to prevent the criminal misuse of Telegram, a messaging app known for its strong encryption and commitment to user privacy. “Enough of Telegram’s impunity,” one of the investigators involved in the case remarked, expressing surprise that Durov would come to Paris despite knowing he was a wanted man.
Telegram, which is based in Dubai, has positioned itself as a privacy-focused alternative to U.S.-owned social media platforms, which have often been criticized for their exploitation of user data.
Telegram has maintained a strict policy of not disclosing any user information, a stance that has attracted a large global user base but also criticism for enabling illegal activities.
In an interview with right-wing talk show host Tucker Carlson in April, Durov shared that the idea for Telegram came to him after facing pressure from the Russian government while working at VK, a social network he founded before selling it and leaving Russia in 2014. Durov eventually settled in Dubai after considering several other cities, praising the emirate for its business-friendly environment and “neutrality.”
Durov highlighted the appeal of Telegram’s independence and privacy features during the interview, noting that the platform had over 900 million active users at the time. By basing the company in the United Arab Emirates, Telegram has largely shielded itself from the moderation laws that have increasingly pressured Western social media platforms to remove illegal content.
Telegram allows groups of up to 200,000 members, a feature that has drawn criticism for facilitating the spread of misinformation, as well as enabling the dissemination of extremist content, including neo-Nazi, paedophilic, conspiratorial, and terrorist material.
Unlike competitor WhatsApp, which introduced limits on message forwarding in 2019 to combat the spread of false information, Telegram has maintained its less restrictive approach, which has now brought its founder into the crosshairs of law enforcement.
Durov is expected to appear in court today as the legal proceedings against him begin. His arrest marks a significant development in the ongoing global debate over the responsibilities of social media platforms in policing content and the extent to which they can be held accountable for the actions of their users.
