Russian-French billionaire founder and CEO of Telegram messaging app Pavel Durov was arrested in France on Saturday after his private jet landed at Bourget Airport in Paris, Reuters reported.
Both the French Interior Ministry and police have yet to comment on the arrest, while Telegram has not yet said anything about Durov’s arrest. Meanwhile, the Russian foreign ministry stated that its embassy in Paris is seeking clarification on the situation and urged Western non-governmental organizations to advocate for Durov’s release.
French agency OFMIN, which is responsible for preventing violence against minors, has charged the Telegram founder with multiple offenses like fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, and organized crime. These charges also allege that Durov neglected to address the harmful activities occurring on Telegram. French media reports suggest that Durov could face indictment as early as Sunday (today).
Many on X have revealed that anti-Israel hackers who stole gigabytes of sensitive Israeli data have been publishing classified information on Telegram and the company has refused Israel’s request to censor them.
“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,” American television host Tucker Carlson tweeted on X following news of Durov’s arrest.
Telegram is one of the most frequently used mobile phone apps in the world after Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, Wechat, and YouTube.
X owner Elon Musk commented on Durov’s arrest, “It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme”.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova took this opportunity to post on Telegram asking whether Western human rights organizations would remain silent on Durov’s arrest. She pointed out that these organizations had previously criticized Russia for imposing restrictions on Telegram’s operations within the country in 2018.