French authorities arrest Telegram CEO

NICE, France — The founder and CEO of messaging service Telegram was detained at a Paris airport on an arrest warrant alleging that his platform was being used for money laundering, drug trafficking and other crimes, French media reported Sunday.

Pavel Durov, a French-Russian citizen, was detained at Paris-Le Bourget airport on Saturday evening after landing in France from Azerbaijan, television stations LCI and TF1 reported.

Investigators from the National Anti-Fraud Office, which is part of the French customs office, notified Durov, 39, that he had been placed in police custody, the broadcaster said.

Durov’s representative could not be reached for comment.

French prosecutors contacted on Sunday declined to comment on Durov’s arrest, in line with the ongoing investigation.

French media reported that Durov’s arrest warrant was issued by France at the request of a special unit in the country’s interior ministry responsible for investigating crimes against minors. These include online sexual exploitation, such as possession and distribution of child sexual abuse content, and grooming for sexual purposes.

Telegram was founded by Durov and his brother in response to the Russian government’s crackdown on the mass pro-democracy protests that rocked Moscow in late 2011 and 2012.

The demonstrations prompted Russian authorities to clamp down on digital space, introducing laws forcing internet providers to block websites and mobile operators to keep call and message records that could be shared with security services.

In an increasingly repressive environment, Telegram and its pro-privacy rhetoric offered Russians a convenient way to communicate and share news. In 2018, Russia’s media watchdog Roskomnadzor took action to block Telegram over its refusal to hand over encryption keys, but ultimately failed to fully restrict access to the app.

Telegram continued to be widely used — including by government institutions — and the ban was lifted two years later. In March 2024, Roskomnadzor reported that Telegram had cooperated with the Russian government to some extent and removed more than 256,000 posts with banned content at Roskomnadzor’s request.

Telegram remains a popular news source in Ukraine, used by media and officials alike to exchange information about the war and to warn of missile attacks and airstrikes.

In a statement on its platform, Telegram said it complies with EU regulations, including the Digital Services Act, and its moderation “is in line with industry standards and is continually improving.”

Durov, the company added, “has nothing to hide and frequently travels around Europe.”

“It is absurd that we claim that the platform or its owner is responsible for the abuse of this platform,” Telegram said in a statement. “Nearly a billion users worldwide use Telegram as a means of communication and a source of important information. We expect this situation to be resolved quickly. Telegram stands with you all.”

Western governments have frequently criticized Telegram for its lack of content moderation on the messaging service, which experts say opens the platform to being used for money laundering, drug trafficking and enabling the sharing of content related to the sexual exploitation of minors.