The CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, has been arrested in France. According to reports, Durov was detained at Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday evening while traveling by private jet.
The arrest was made under a warrant issued in relation to the Telegram app, with French media reporting that the investigation is focused on the lack of moderators on the platform, allowing criminal activity to go undeterred.
Durov is expected to appear in court on Sunday and faces possible indictment. The Russian embassy in France is clarifying Durov’s situation, and the Russian foreign ministry has called on Western non-governmental organizations to demand his release.
“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.
Pavel Durov, a Russian-born entrepreneur, founded Telegram in 2013 with his brother Nikolai.
The messaging app quickly gained popularity for its encryption and privacy features, attracting hundreds of millions of users worldwide.
In 2014, Durov left Russia after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on his social media platform, VKontakte. Since then, he has been living in exile, managing Telegram from various locations.
After Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Telegram has become the main source of unfiltered – and sometimes graphic and misleading – content from both sides about the war and the politics surrounding the conflict.