Pavel Durov, co-founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested in France.

“Mr Durov was detained after his private jet had landed at Le Bourget Airport, French media reported,” BBC noted.

BBC reports:

According to officials the 39-year-old billionaire was arrested under a warrant for offences related to the popular messaging app. The investigation is reportedly about a lack of moderators, with Mr Durov accused of failing to take steps to curb criminal uses of Telegram.

The app is accused of failure to cooperate with law enforcement over drug trafficking, child sexual content and fraud. Telegram has previously denied having insufficient moderation.

Mr Durov was born in Russia and lives in Dubai. He holds dual citizenship of the United Arab Emirates and France.

Telegram is particularly popular in Russia, Ukraine and former Soviet Union states.

The app was banned in Russia in 2018, after a previous refusal by Mr Durov to hand over user data. But the ban was reversed in 2021.

“Mr Durov actually did an interview with the American right-wing commentator back in April, a man called Tucker Carlson,” Sky News noted.

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“I’m a little late to this, but for good reason — I’ve just safely departed from Europe. France has threatened Rumble, and now they have crossed a red line by arresting Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov, reportedly for not censoring speech,” Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski said.

“Rumble will not stand for this behavior and will use every legal means available to fight for freedom of expression, a universal human right. We are currently fighting in the courts of France, and we hope for Pavel Durov’s immediate release,” he added.

“Free speech is under major assault and I will not stop fighting for it,” Pavlovski said.

“Very worrying,” Elon Musk commented.

Musk shared a clip of Durov’s interview with Tucker Carlson.

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From Al Jazeera:

Durov faces possible indictment on Sunday, according to French media.

TF1 TV and BFM TV, both quoting unidentified sources, said the investigation was focused on a lack of moderators and that police considered that this situation allowed criminal activity to go on undeterred on the messaging app.

One of the investigators told AFP they were surprised Durov entered France despite the warrant against him, adding “enough of Telegram’s impunity”.

Meanwhile, the Russian embassy in France has demanded consular access to Durov and demanded that his rights be ensured, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Sunday.

The embassy said France has so far “avoided engagement” on the situation with Durov. Russian diplomats are in contact with Durov’s lawyer, the embassy said.

 

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