Paris: In a surprising turn of events, Pavel Durov, the billionaire co-founder and CEO of Telegram, was arrested at the Bourget airport near Paris on Saturday evening. The alleged charges relate to the popular messaging app, as reported by media sources citing police officials.
According to TF1 TV, Durov was on his private jet and had an arrest warrant in France.
The 39-year-old is believed to have arrived from Azerbaijan and was taken into custody at 8 p.m. local time.
Durov was scheduled to appear in court on Sunday.
The Russian-born entrepreneur lives in Dubai, where Telegram is headquartered and holds dual citizenship in France and the UAE.
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Forbes estimates Durov’s net worth at $15.5 billion (£12 billion). He left Russia in 2014 after refusing to shut down opposition communities on his social media network, VK, which he later sold.
Telegram did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
The Russian Embassy in France is taking “immediate steps” to clarify the situation.
According to a spokesman from the Russian embassy in France, Durov’s team did not make a request to the embassy, but it was taking “immediate” steps.
Durov and his brother Nikolai founded the texting app in 2013, and it has an impressive user base of around 900 million active users.
Telegram, known for its end-to-end encrypted communications, allows users to build up ‘channels’ to instantly share information with followers, providing a secure and efficient platform for communication.
According to one source familiar with the case, France’s OFMIN, an agency tasked with preventing violence against minors, issued an arrest warrant for Durov as the coordinating agency in a preliminary investigation into alleged offences such as fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organised crime, and terrorism promotion. These charges are serious and could have significant legal implications for Durov and his company.
“Enough of Telegram’s impunity,” said one of the investigators, adding they were surprised Durov came to Paris knowing he was a wanted man.
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