Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, has been arrested at Bourget airport outside Paris for alleged offences related to his messaging app.
Local sources said on Sunday that Durov, 39, had been travelling on his private jet from Azerbaijan and that a French arrest warrant targeted him as part of a preliminary investigation.
The offences levelled at Durov by France’s OFMIN, an agency that deals with the prevention of violence against minors, include fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, and organised crime, according to the AFP news agency, which quoted officials speaking on condition of anonymity.
Durov, who was traveling from Azerbaijan on his private jet, was detained by the Air Transport Gendarmerie around 20:00 (18:00 GMT).
He was accompanied by a bodyguard and a woman at the time of his arrest. The French warrant was issued by the OFMIN of the French judicial police due to his inclusion in the wanted persons file (FPR), and it was activated upon his presence on French soil.
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Allegations Against Telegram
French authorities accuse Telegram of facilitating crimes such as terrorism, narcotics trafficking, and fraud, among others. The National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF) is handling the case, and Durov is currently in custody. A source close to the investigation stated, “On his platform, he allowed an incalculable number of offences and crimes to be committed, for which he did nothing to moderate or cooperate.”
The news of Durov’s arrest has had a significant impact on the price of Toncoin (TON), which dropped by 13% following the announcement. As of writing, TON is trading at $5.96, down from earlier in the day.
Reactions and Commentary
In a related development, American conservative commentator Tucker Carlson expressed his views on X, highlighting the irony that Durov, who once defied the Russian government’s attempts to control his platform, has now been detained by a Western country. Carlson posted, “Pavel Durov left Russia when the government tried to control his social media company, Telegram. But in the end, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for allowing the public to exercise free speech. It was a western country, a Biden administration ally and enthusiastic NATO member, that locked him away.”
Carlson further commented, “Pavel Durov sits in a French jail tonight, a living warning to any platform owner who refuses to censor the truth at the behest of governments and intel agencies. Darkness is descending fast on the formerly free world.”
Background on Pavel Durov and Telegram
Telegram, based in Dubai, was founded by Russian-born Durov, who left Russia in 2014 after he refused to comply with demands to shut down opposition communities on his VK social media platform, which he sold. Durov, who Forbes estimates to have a fortune of $15.5 billion, has stated that some governments had sought to pressure him, but the app, which now has 900 million active users, should remain a “neutral platform” and not a “player in geopolitics.”
Finally, as the investigation unfolds, the tech world watches closely to see how this high-profile arrest will impact Telegram and its operations. The case raises significant questions about the responsibilities of social media platforms in moderating content and cooperating with law enforcement agencies.
