Telegram chief Pavel Durov arrested at French airport

RFI

24 August 2024 at 10:18 pm·1-min read

Telegram chief executive Pavel Durov is due to appear in court in the coming days after being arrested by French police at an airport near Paris for alleged offences related to his popular messaging app, sources told AFP.

The Franco-Russian billionaire, 39, was detained at Le Bourget airport north of the French capital on Saturday evening, one of the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Durov had arrived from Baku, in Azerbaijan, on a private plane.

France's OFMIN, an office tasked with preventing violence against minors, had issued an arrest warrant for Durov in a preliminary investigation into alleged offences including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organised crime and promotion of terrorism, one of the sources said.

Durov is accused of failing to take action to curb the criminal use of his platform. If found guilty, he faces up to 20 years in jail.

"Enough of Telegram's impunity," said one of the investigators, adding they were surprised Durov came to Paris knowing he was a wanted man.

Durov: Mysterious and controversial Telegram founder

Refusal to cooperate

Russian authorities said they had demanded access to Durov but had had no response from France.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow had asked for consular access to Durov, saying that as he also had French citizenship "France considers that it is his main nationality".

Telegram has committed to never disclosing any information about its users.

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Refusal to cooperate

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