Telegram CEO Pavel Durov arrested in France for ‘offences’ related to app: Report

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested at the Bourget airport in France on Saturday for alleged offences related to the messaging app.

Published on: Aug 25, 2024, 10:13:58 IST

By HT News Desk

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Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested at the Bourget airport in France on Saturday for alleged offences related to the messaging app, reported AFP. The 39-year-old billionaire is reportedly suspected of failing to take steps to prevent criminal use of Telegram.

Pavel Durov, CEO and co-founder of Telegram (AFP)

Local media reported that the investigation was focused on a lack of moderators on Telegram, adding that the police considered that this situation allowed criminal activity to go on undeterred on the messaging app, reported Reuters.

According to the local media, Durov was travelling from Azerbaijan on his private jet at the time of his arrest.

France’s Ofmin, an agency set up to combat violence against minors, issued an arrest warrant for Durov, reported AFP. Notably, Ofmin is the coordinating agency in a preliminary probe into alleged offences such as fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime and promotion of terrorism.

Also read: Russian-origin CEO of Telegram claims he has over '100 biological kids’, reveals how

While the exact details of Durov's arrest are unclear, the Russian foreign ministry said that its embassy in Paris is clarifying the situation. The ministry also accuses France of acting as a dictatorship—the same criticism that Moscow faced when putting demands on Durov in 2014 and trying to ban Telegram in 2018. Moscow also called on Western non-governmental organisations to demand Durov's release.

Meanwhile, Russia's representative to international organisations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, slammed France over the Telegram CEO's arrest.

“Some naive 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,” he wrote on X.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk took a dig over Durov's arrest, saying: “It's 2030 in Europe, and you’re being executed for liking a meme”.

Durov's arrest comes amid Telegram's increasing popularity, which has prompted scrutiny from several countries in Europe, including France, on security and data breach concerns. The messaging app, which has around one billion users, is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine, and the republics of the former Soviet Union. It is also ranked as one of the major social media platforms after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and WeChat and has It has about 900 million active users.

The app became one of the main sources of unfiltered, graphic, and misleading content after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. It is also used by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Russian government.

All about Pavel Durov

Pavel Durov, 39, is the CEO of Telegram - a cloud-based, cross-platform, instant messaging service. He founded the app with his brother in 2013. In 2014, Durov left Russia after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on his VKontakte social media platform - which he sold.

Durov lives in Dubai and holds dual citizenship of the United Arab Emirates and France. He has a net worth of over 9 billion dollars, reported Bloomberg.

The Telegram CEO's fortune was estimated by Forbes at 15.5 billion dollars.

(With inputs from Reuters, AFP, Bloomberg)

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