Russian Embassy Says Telegram CEO Durov Arrested in France

French authorities have arrested Pavel Durov, the Russian-born CEO of the Telegram messaging service, according to a statement from the Russian embassy in Paris.

Following media reports of the detention, “we immediately asked the French authorities for explanations on the reasons for the detention and demanded that they ensure the protection of his rights and grant him consular access,” the statement posted on the embassy's Telegram account said. “So far, the French side has avoided interacting on this issue,” it added.

Embassy officials are in contact with Durov's lawyer, the statement said.

Also read:

Too small to monitor, too big to ignore: Telegram is the app that's dividing Europe

The 39-year-old billionaire was arrested Saturday at Le Bourget airport for alleged crimes related to the messaging app, AFP reported, citing unidentified officials. The billionaire is suspected of failing to take steps to prevent the criminal use of Telegram, AFP said, adding that he is expected to appear in court on Sunday.

According to the Telegram website, Durov lives in Dubai and is a French and Emirati citizen. Durov has not yet commented on whether he has renounced his Russian citizenship.

The Paris prosecutor's office said it had no comment at this stage, in line with “procedures followed during an investigation.” Paris police, the president of the Paris court, Telegram and the UAE foreign ministry did not respond to messages seeking comment outside normal business hours.

Ofmin, the French agency for combating violence against minors, has issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Durov, AFP reported. Ofmin is the agency coordinating the preliminary investigation into alleged crimes including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime and advocating terrorism, according to AFP.

Following the news of Durov's arrest, the price of Toncoin, a cryptocurrency linked to Telegram, fell by up to 23%.

Telegram was founded by Durov and his brother Nikolai, a programmer and mathematician. It has around 900 million active users and is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world. Its relatively light-handed approach to content moderation has led to allegations that it is frequently used for criminal activity and extremist content.

The Durov brothers made their fortune by founding the Russian social network VKontakte in 2006. The platform quickly became popular among Russians, making it a target for a Kremlin-linked billionaire.

Durov fled the country in 2014 and sold his stake in VKontakte. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his fortune is more than $9 billion.

In an April interview with former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, Durov discussed the pressure he faced from Russian authorities while running VKontakte, as well as the scrutiny Telegram has received from law enforcement around the world.

“I prefer to be free, I would not like to take orders from anyone,” Durov said in the interview.