Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested on Saturday evening at Bourget Airport near Paris, according to French local media. The arrest is reportedly related to an investigation into the lack of moderation on Telegram, which authorities believe has enabled criminal activities to persist on the platform.
The French Interior Ministry and police have declined to comment on the arrest, and Telegram has yet to respond to a Reuters request for a statement. Russia's Foreign Ministry has indicated it is taking steps to "clarify" the situation and has questioned whether Western non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will advocate for Durov's release.
Pavel Durov, 39, is a Russian-born entrepreneur and the founder of Telegram, a widely-used messaging app. Telegram competes with major social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and WeChat. The app aims to achieve over one billion active monthly users within the year and is notably influential in Russia, Ukraine, and former Soviet republics. It has played a significant role in providing information on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, with both Moscow and Kyiv officials utilizing the platform.
Durov, whose net worth is estimated at $15.5 billion by Forbes, left Russia in 2014 after resisting government demands to shut down opposition communities on his VKontakte social media platform, which he subsequently sold. In 2021, he became a French citizen and moved Telegram to Dubai in 2017.
In an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson in April, Durov expressed his preference for freedom over material wealth, stating, "I would rather be free than to take orders from anyone." He revealed that he had no significant assets like real estate or yachts, emphasizing his desire to remain unencumbered.
The arrest of Durov has sparked international attention, and it remains to be seen how this will impact Telegram and its operations.
