NICE, France (AP) — The founder and CEO of the messaging service Telegram was arrested at an airport in Paris.
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Pavel Durov, a Russian and French citizen, was detained at Paris-Le Bourget Airport on Saturday afternoon after landing from Azerbaijan, according to the LCI and TF1 broadcasters.
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Investigators from the National Office against Fraud, attached to the Customs Department, informed Durov that he was being placed under police custody.
French prosecutors declined to comment on Durov's arrest when contacted by The Associated Press on Sunday.
The French press reported that Durov, 39 years old, had a pending arrest warrant due to accusations that his platform has been used for money laundering, drug trafficking, and other crimes. Reports stated that the arrest warrant was issued by France at the request of a special unit of the Ministry of the Interior in charge of investigating crimes against minors, including online sexual exploitation, such as possession and distribution of child sexual abuse content and grooming of minors for abuse.
Telegram was founded by Durov and his brother after the intense repression of the massive pro-democracy protests that erupted in Moscow in 2011 and 2012.
The protests led Russian authorities to implement internet censorship, approving regulations that required internet providers to block websites, and mobile phone operators to store messages and data that could be shared with security services.
In the repressive environment that dominated Russia, Telegram and its pro-privacy rhetoric offered a convenient way for Russians to communicate and share news. In 2018, the Russian state communications office Roskomnadzor tried to block Telegram for its refusal to hand over encryption keys, but ultimately could not restrict access to the app.
Telegram continued to be used — even by government agencies — and the ban was lifted two years later. In March 2024, Roskomnadzor stated that Telegram was cooperating to some extent with the Russian government and had removed over 256,000 posts containing prohibited content at Roskomnadzor's request.
Telegram remains a popular source of news in Ukraine, where both local press and officials use it to share information about the war and to issue alerts about imminent attacks.
A French judicial official suggested that Durov could appear before a judge on Sunday to determine if he should remain detained. The official was not authorized to comment publicly on the matter.
"If the person in question were to be brought before a judge today, it would only be in the context of a possible extension of their detention measure, which is a decision that can be made by an investigating judge," said the official.
Western governments have often criticized Telegram for the lack of content filters, stating that it can be used for money laundering, drug trafficking, and the distribution of content related to the sexual exploitation of minors.
"Compared to other messaging platforms, Telegram is 'less secure and more lax in terms of its rules and detection of illegal content,' said David Thiel, a researcher at the Internet Observatory at Stanford University who has studied the use of online platforms for child exploitation."
Furthermore, Thiel said that Telegram "seems to completely ignore law enforcement agencies," adding that WhatsApp "delivered over 1.3 million CyberTipline reports in 2023 and Telegram has not delivered a single one."
In 2022, Germany imposed fines of 5.125 million euros (5 million dollars) on Telegram operators for failing to comply with German laws. The Federal Office of Justice stated that Telegram FZ-LLC has not established a legal way to report illegal content nor has it set up an entity in Germany that can receive official communications. Both are requirements stipulated in German laws that regulate online platforms.
Russian officials expressed their anger over Durov's arrest, and some highlighted what they consider a double standard in the West regarding freedom of expression.
"In 2018, a group of 26 NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Freedom House, Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and others, condemned the decision of a Russian court to block Telegram," said the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova.
"Do you think they will now appeal to Paris and demand Durov's freedom?" Zakharova wrote in a post on her personal Telegram account.
Officials at the Russian embassy in Paris have requested access to Durov, Zakharova told the Russian state broadcaster RIA Novosti, but added that the authorities consider Durov’s French nationality as his primary nationality.