The founder and CEO of the Telegram messenger Pavlo Durov was detained by the French special services. This is reported by the TV channel TF1. It is noted that the arrest took place around 20:00 on Saturday evening, when Durov got off his private plane on the runway at Le Bourget airport. The arrest was made by GTA gendarmes.
It is known that Pavlo Durov was listed in the wanted persons list (FPR) and had just arrived from Azerbaijan. It is worth noting that the warrant for his arrest was only valid if he was in France.
“He made a mistake tonight. We don’t know why…”, – a source close to the investigation told the TV channel TF1-LCI.
Since Pavlo Durov knew that he was persona non grata in France, he usually traveled to the United Arab Emirates, countries of the former USSR, South America and other regions. At the same time, he very rarely visited Europe and avoided countries where the Telegram messenger was under increased surveillance.
Investigators from the National Anti-Fraud Office of the Customs Department (ONAF) informed him of the suspicion and took him into custody. It is now being reported that Pavlo Durov is due to appear before an investigating judge before he can be charged on Sunday with a range of crimes: terrorism, drugs, complicity, sanctions evasion, fraud, money laundering, trafficking in stolen property, distribution of pedophile content and other offences. He faces up to 20 years in prison. At the moment, he has already been taken into custody.
The investigation believes that Pavlo Durov contributed to the commission of these crimes due to insufficient moderation of content in Telegram and due to insufficient cooperation of the messenger with the authorities. However, according to French media, the real reason for his detention is the desire of the French government to gain access to encrypted messages in the messenger, which cannot be decrypted without the appropriate keys.
Elon Musk, the owner of the X social network and one of the richest people on the planet, commented on the arrest of Pavel Durov in France. According to him, this incident became a kind of advertisement for the first amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech. This is reported by UNN.
“Look at this First Amendment ad. It’s very compelling.” Musk wrote on his social network X. Later he added: “POV: It’s 2030 and you’re being executed in Europe for liking a meme.”
Pavlo Durov was born and educated in St. Petersburg. He has citizenship of Russia, United Arab Emirates, France and Saint Kitts and Nevis. He is the co-founder of the VKontakte social network and the Telegram messenger. In 2014, Durov left Russia. According to Forbes, he ranks eighth in the list of the richest Russians with a fortune of $15.5 billion.
