Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram, was arrested in Paris over the weekend over allegations that his platform is being used for illicit activity such as drug trafficking and the distribution of child sexual abuse images.
Durov, who was born in Russia, spent much of his childhood in Italy and is a citizen of France, Russia, the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis and the United Arab Emirates. He was taken into custody at Paris-Le Bourget Airport in France on Saturday after landing from Azerbaijan.
In a statement posted to its platform, Telegram said it abides by EU laws and its content moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving.” Durov, the company added, “has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe.”Before Telegram, Durov founded VKontakte, Russia’s largest social network. The company came under pressure amid the Russian government’s crackdown after mass pro-democracy protests rocked Moscow at the end of 2011 and 2012. Durov said government authorities demanded that VKontakte take down the online communities of Russian opposition activists. It later asked the platform to hand over the personal data of users who took part in the 2013 uprising in Ukraine, which eventually ousted a pro-Kremlin president.
But Durov sold his stake in VKontakte after pressure from Russian authorities in 2014. He also left the country.French media has reported that Durov was detained on an arrest warrant alleging his platform has been used for money laundering, drug trafficking and other offenses. As of Monday afternoon, he had not been charged, and few details were available on the investigation.
On Sunday night, a French investigative judge extended Durov’s detention order, French media reported on Monday. Under French law, Durov can remain in custody for questioning for up to four days. After that, judges must decide to either charge him or release him.
In 2022, Germany issued fines of 5.125 million euros ($5 million) against the operators of Telegram for failing to comply with German law. The Federal Office of Justice said that Telegram FZ-LLC hasn’t established a lawful way for reporting illegal content or named an entity in Germany to receive official communication.
Both are required under German laws that regulate large online platforms.
Last year, Brazil temporarily suspended Telegram over its failure to surrender data on neo-Nazi activity related to a police inquiry into school shootings in November.
Telegram said in response to the arrest that it abides by EU laws and its content moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving.”
