Key Points
- Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has been arrested in France.
- Telegram is an encrypted messaging platform with particular influence in Russia.
- France says Durov’s detention is part of an investigation into crimes related to child pornography and fraud.
A French prosecutor says the CEO of messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, was arrested as part of a cyber criminality investigation.
The Russian-born Durov, who was naturalised as a French citizen in 2021, is being held in custody in France .
The investigation concerns crimes related to illicit transactions, child pornography, fraud and the refusal to communicate information to authorities, the prosecutor said in a statement.
What is Telegram?
Telegram is a popular messaging and social media app similar to WhatsApp. It was founded in 2013 by Durov and his brother Nikolai.
The encrypted application, with close to a billion users, is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union.
Due to its encrypted nature and minimal restrictions on content, it has been linked to the facilitation of both criminal activity and use by violent organisations — as well as pro-democracy activism.
Macron says arrest part of judicial investigation
Durov was arrested in France as part of an ongoing judicial investigation, and there was no political motive, French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier on Monday.
Macron’s statement on X amounted to the first official confirmation of Durov’s arrest, nearly two days since he was detained at Le Bourget airport outside Paris shortly after landing on a private jet from Azerbaijan.
The lack of official confirmation had led to speculation about the reasons behind his detention.
Macron said he had read “false information here regarding France following the arrest of Pavel Durov”, adding France was deeply committed to free speech.
“The arrest of the Telegram president on French territory took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation,” Macron wrote.
“This is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to decide.”
A police spokesman told the Reuters news agency that Durov is under investigation by the cybercrime and fraud offices for failing to cooperate over cyber and financial crimes on Telegram.
Durov is being accused of negligence regarding the platform’s facilitation of such crimes — including drug trafficking and child exploitation.
He is still in custody, the spokesperson said.
Telegram is an encrypted messaging platform with close to a billion users and is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union. Source: AAP / Jaap Arriens/Sipa USA
Tensions between France and Russia have been mounting for months, with French authorities accusing Russia of trying to destabilise it ahead of the Paris Olympics in response to its more hawkish stance on the Ukraine war — claims Russia denies.
Who is Pavel Durov?
Durov, a 39-year-old billionaire cast as “Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg” has dual French and United Arab Emirates citizenship.
Born in Russia in 1984, he left the country in 2014 after he refused to comply with demands to shut down opposition communities on his VK social media platform, which he has sold.
Estimated by Forbes to have a fortune of $US15.5 billion ($22.9 billion), Durov said in April some governments had sought to pressure him but that Telegram should remain a neutral platform and not a “player in geopolitics”.
He obtained his French passport in 2021 through a special procedure for high-profile foreigners exempting them from the usual legal requirements, including having lived in the country for at least five years.
What has Telegram said about Durov’s arrest?
Telegram gave no details of the arrest but said the Dubai-based company abided by European Union laws and its moderation was “within industry standards and constantly improving”.
“Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe,” Telegram said in a statement.
“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”
