French authorities arrested Telegram founder Pavel Durov on Saturday evening at Le Bourget Airport near… Paris Under a search warrant issued by French investigators over allegations of various violations attributed to the encrypted messaging app.
The 39-year-old French-Russian billionaire was arrested at the airport along with his bodyguard and assistant, and was arriving from Azerbaijan on a private plane.
Durov left his country at the beginning of Russian-Ukrainian war In February 2022, he resided in the United Arab Emirates, and Durov's total wealth is estimated at $15 billion.
French media reported that there is an arrest warrant for Durov, who is accused by the judiciary of not taking action against the misuse of his application by some users.
“It's enough that Telegram has escaped punishment,” a French investigator was quoted as saying by AFP, and according to the agency, a source familiar with the case said he did so “perhaps out of a sense of impunity.”
Russian demands
Following Rudov's arrest, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that its embassy in Paris had begun taking the necessary measures to “clarify the matter.”
The Russian embassy in Paris later criticized the French authorities' treatment of it, saying in a statement reported by RIA Novosti: “We immediately asked the French authorities to explain the reasons for this detention, protect his rights and allow consular access. So far, the French side refuses to cooperate in this matter.”
In turn, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Western non-governmental organizations had called on Russia in 2018 not to “create obstacles” to implementation.
“I remembered how in 2018 a group of 26 NGOs condemned the Russian court’s decision to block Telegram,” she said in this context.
“Do you think this time they will go to Paris and demand Durov's release or will they bite their tongues?” she added.
Durov had previously said that some governments had sought to pressure him, but the app, which has 900 million users, is currently active.
