Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Arrested at Paris Airport: Report

Pavel Durov, co-founder and CEO of messaging app Telegram, was arrested Saturday at a Paris airport after getting off his private jet, French media reported.

The Russian billionaire and expat was arrested at around 8pm at Le Bourget airport by French police after arriving from Azerbaijan, French news agency TF1 Info reported.

French authorities issued a search warrant as part of a preliminary investigation into Durov and his encrypted messaging app, which has some 900 million users worldwide.

Law enforcement believes Telegram’s lack of moderation and the tools it offers, such as cryptocurrencies, make it complicit in global drug trafficking, pedophilia, and fraud. But the search warrant was only valid once Durov set foot on French soil.

“He made a mistake that evening. We don’t know why… Was that flight just a stopover? In any case, he’s in custody,” a source close to the investigation told TF1.

Durov, 39, is a Russian technology entrepreneur best known for founding the social networking site VK (VKontakte) and the messaging app Telegram.

He lives in Dubai, where Telegram is headquartered, and according to Fortune magazine, he is also a citizen of France and the United Arab Emirates.

Durov founded Telegram in 2013 with his brother Nikolai, but fled Russia in 2014 after refusing to hand over encrypted user data to Russian officials and silence communities opposed to the government. He later sold the app.

According to a report in The Sun, Durov opted for voluntary exile, stating after leaving the country that Russia was “not suitable for running an internet business at the moment.”

According to Forbes estimates, his net worth is estimated at $15.5 billion.

Telegram’s emphasis on user privacy has drawn criticism from many governments that allow militants and organized crime groups to communicate discreetly.

It also became an important source of information on the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Durov maintains that Telegram is a neutral social media platform and not a “player in geopolitics.”

He is expected to appear in court on Sunday on charges related to terrorism, drugs, complicity, fraud, money laundering, receiving stolen goods and child pornography, TF1 reports.

“Pavel Durov will be placed in pretrial detention, that’s for sure,” an investigator familiar with the case told TF1.

“On his show, he allowed an uncountable number of crimes and offenses to be committed, for which he did not take any action to mitigate or cooperate,” the source added.