Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging service, was apprehended at Bourget airport near Paris on Saturday evening, according to reports from TF1 TV and BFM TV, which cited unnamed sources.
Durov was on his private jet when he was detained, as TF1 reported, noting that he was the subject of an arrest warrant in France linked to an ongoing preliminary police investigation.
Both TF1 and BFM indicated that the inquiry centers on the insufficient moderation on Telegram, which authorities believe has facilitated criminal activities on the platform.
French media suggest that Durov may face an indictment as early as Sunday.
Telegram, which boasts nearly one billion users, holds significant influence in Russia, Ukraine, and the former Soviet republics, ranking among the leading social media platforms alongside Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and WeChat.
Telegram has not yet responded to a request for comment from Reuters, and there has been no statement from the French Interior Ministry or police.
Durov, who was born in Russia, co-founded Telegram with his brother in 2013 and left Russia in 2014 after he declined to meet government demands to dismantle opposition groups on his VKontakte social media site, which he subsequently sold.
“I would rather be free than to take orders from anyone,” Durov told U.S. journalist Tucker Carlson in April about his exit from Russia and search for a home for his company which included stints in Berlin, London, Singapore and San Francisco.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Telegram has emerged as a primary platform for unfiltered, and at times graphic and misleading, information from both parties involved in the conflict.
Analysts have described the platform as ‘a virtual battlefield,’ heavily utilized by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his administration, as well as by the Russian government.
Telegram, which enables users to bypass official oversight, has also become one of the few avenues for Russians to access independent news regarding the war, particularly after the Kremlin intensified restrictions on independent media post-invasion.
The Russian foreign ministry has stated that its embassy in Paris is working to clarify the situation concerning Durov and has urged Western NGOs to advocate for his release.
In 2018, Russia initiated a ban on Telegram after the app declined to comply with a court ruling that required it to provide state security services access to users’ encrypted communications.
Although this action disrupted several third-party services, it had minimal impact on Telegram’s accessibility in the country. The ban, however, led to widespread protests in Moscow and drew criticism from various NGOs.
‘NEUTRAL PLATFORM’
TF1 reported that Durov, who is based in Dubai, was apprehended around 8 p.m. (1800 GMT) after traveling from Azerbaijan. Durov, whose wealth Forbes estimates at $15.5 billion, stated that while some governments have attempted to exert pressure on him, the app should function as a “neutral platform” rather than engage in geopolitical matters.
Nevertheless, the rising popularity of Telegram has led to increased scrutiny from various European nations, including France, regarding security and data privacy issues.
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s representative to international organizations in Vienna, along with several other Russian officials, swiftly accused France on Sunday of behaving like a dictatorship, echoing the criticisms Moscow faced when it imposed demands on Durov in 2014 and attempted to ban Telegram in 2018.
“Some naïve 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, the billionaire proprietor of X, the social media platform previously recognized as Twitter, commented on reports regarding Durov’s detention, stating, “It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re facing execution for simply liking a meme.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who recently suspended his U.S. presidential campaign to endorse Republican Donald Trump, expressed on X that the imperative to safeguard free speech “has never been more critical.”
In response, numerous Russian bloggers have urged protests at French embassies globally, scheduled for noon on Sunday.
