Telegram messaging app CEO Pavel Durov arrested in France

One of the two sources in the French police said that even before the plane arrived, police noticed that the man was on the passenger list and took action to arrest him because an arrest warrant had been issued for him in France.

“Telegram complies with EU regulations, including the Digital Services Act – its moderation is in line with industry standards and is continually improved,” Telegram said in a statement about the arrest.

“Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and frequently travels around Europe,” it said. “It is absurd to claim that the platform or its owner is responsible for the abuse of the platform.”

The investigation is being led by the gendarmerie’s cybersecurity unit and the French national police anti-fraud unit, the source said. The investigating judge specializes in organized crime.

“We are waiting for a quick resolution to this situation. Telegram is with you all,” Telegram said.

The French Interior Ministry, police and Paris prosecutor’s office have not commented on the matter.

Telegram, based in Dubai, was founded by Durov, who left Russia in 2014 after he refused to comply with demands to close opposition communities on his VK social media platform, which he sold.

Durov, whose fortune Forbes estimates at $15.5 billion, said in April that some governments had tried to pressure him but that the app should remain a neutral platform and not a “player in geopolitics.”

Durov came up with the idea for an encrypted messaging app while under pressure in Russia. His younger brother, Nikolai, designed the encryption.

“I’d rather be free than take orders from anyone,” Durov said in April, recounting his departure from Russia and search for a headquarters for his company, which included stints in Berlin, London, Singapore and San Francisco.

The platform has become, as some analysts say, a “virtual battlefield” of war, intensively used by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his officials, as well as by the Russian government.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it had sent a note to Paris demanding a meeting with Durov, although it said he had French citizenship.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Durov made a mistake by fleeing Russia and thinking he would never have to cooperate with security services abroad.

Medvedev, who regularly uses Telegram to criticize and insult the West, said Durov wanted to be “a brilliant ‘worldly man’ who lives a great life without a homeland.”

“He miscalculated,” Medvedev said. “For all our common enemies, he is now Russian — and therefore unpredictable and dangerous.”

Russia began blocking Telegram in 2018 after the app refused to comply with a court order granting state security services access to users’ encrypted messages.

The move disrupted many third-party services but had little impact on Telegram’s availability. However, the ban sparked mass protests in Moscow and criticism from non-governmental organizations.

Telegram says it is “committed to protecting user privacy and human rights such as freedom of speech and assembly.”

Durov has previously accused U.S. law enforcement agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), of seeking to gain backdoor access to the platform. The FBI has not commented on the allegations.

However, Telegram’s growing popularity has caused many countries in Europe, including France, to take notice of it due to concerns about security and data breaches.

Musk, the billionaire owner of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, said after reports of Durov’s detention: “It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme.”

In front of the French embassy in Moscow, a lone protester held a banner reading: “Liberté pour Pavel Durov.”