Pavel Durov, the Russian-born billionaire co-founder of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested in France in connection with an investigation into criminal activity on the platform and his lack of cooperation with law enforcement, prosecutors announced Monday.
Durov, who holds French citizenship, was detained at Le Bourget airport just outside Paris after arriving from Azerbaijan on his private jet on Saturday evening. His sudden arrest has sparked a worldwide debate on freedom of speech and an uproar in Moscow.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the investigation was related to illegal transactions, sexual exploitation of children, fraud and refusal to provide information to authorities.
Earlier in the day, French President Emmanuel Macron first confirmed that Durov had been arrested as part of a judicial investigation into Telegram.
“In a state ruled by law, freedoms are maintained within a legal framework, in social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights,” Macron wrote on X. There is no political decision.” “It is up to the judiciary to enforce the law, with complete independence,” he said.
A senior official at OFMAN, the French agency set up last year to prevent violence against children, said Durov's arrest was linked to Telegram's failure to adequately fight crimes on the app, including the sexual exploitation of children. Spread the content of
“At the heart of this case is the lack of moderation and cooperation of the platform (which has almost 1 billion users), especially in the fight against crimes against children,” wrote Jean-Michel Barnegad, Ofman's secretary general. LinkedIn.
Durov was arrested as part of an “in X” investigation – meaning a person or persons unknown – that officers of the National Jurisdiction for Combating Organized Crime (JNALCO) conducted on July 8, Bekvau said. was opened after preliminary investigation.
Specialist cybercrime and fraud detectives are looking into 12 alleged offenses linked to organized crime, including involvement in the possession and distribution of “pedo-indecent” images of children, drug offenses and fraud. It is unclear what, if any, alleged crimes Durov is being questioned by police.
On Sunday, the investigating magistrate extended Durov's remand from 24 to 96 hours.
In a statement on Sunday evening, Telegram said Durov had “nothing to hide”. It said: “Telegram complies with EU laws, including the Digital Services Act – its moderation is within industry standards and is constantly improving. It is absurd to claim that the platform or its owner Responsible for misuse of forms.
Durov, a self-proclaimed libertarian often cast as “Russia's Mark Zuckerberg,” left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with Kremlin demands to shut down opposition groups on the VK social network. Which he founded when he was 22 years old.
He was forced to sell VK after a dispute with Kremlin-linked owners and turned his attention to Telegram, the app he founded in 2013 with his brother Nikolai. Durov, who lives in Dubai, obtained his French passport in 2021 through a special procedure. For high-profile foreigners who exempt them from normal legal requirements, including those who have lived in the country for at least five years.
Telegram has long been used by pro-democracy activists in countries including Belarus, Hong Kong and Iran. In Russia, the Kremlin was forced to lift a ban on a widely used app after years of unsuccessfully trying to block it.
But it has also become a haven for extremists and conspiracy theorists. The app has also been widely used by far-right agitators planning anti-immigration rallies in England and Northern Ireland after three children were stabbed at a dance class in Southport last month.
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Telegram has denied allegations that its platform facilitates illegal activities such as terrorism, fraud and child exploitation.
Although Durov has previously clashed with the Kremlin, his arrest has sparked outrage in Moscow and Russian officials have portrayed it as a case of Western hypocrisy over free speech.
“The arrest of Pavel Durov confirms that there is no European or even global (pro-Western) freedom of speech,” said Sergei Mironov, a veteran Russian ultranationalist politician and ally of Vladimir Putin.
Maria Butina, a Russian lawmaker who spent 15 months in a US prison for working as an unregistered Russian agent, said Durov was “a political prisoner – witch hunted by the West”.
According to Russian state media, the Russian embassy in France said it had requested consular access to Durov, but its representatives reportedly did not respond.
Durov's arrest has sparked a new debate about social media tech companies' responsibility for content shared on their platforms and whether they should prioritize safety and cooperation with authorities to uphold freedom of expression. Must cooperate. Elon Musk, a self-described “free speech totalitarian”, condemned Durov's arrest, claiming that freedom of expression in Europe was under attack.