Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Reportedly Arrested in France in Criminal Investigation

According to unverified sources, Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, was arrested at Le Bourget airport near Paris on August 23. The arrest, linked to a preliminary police investigation into Telegram's activities, has attracted considerable attention, although the details remain unclear.

Telegram CEO Durov reportedly arrested over concerns about platform's role in criminal activity

According to unverified sources, Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram, was arrested at Le Bourget airport near Paris on the evening of August 23, as reported by TF1 and BFM TV.

Telegram is one of the leading social media platforms, after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and WeChat. It is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union. It plans to surpass one billion users within a year.

Born in Russia, Durov founded Telegram in Dubai. He left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on his social media platform VK, which he later sold.

TF1 reported on its website that Durov was traveling on his private plane and was the subject of an arrest warrant in France as part of a preliminary police investigation.

According to TF1 and BFM, the investigation focused on the absence of moderators on Telegram. Police believe that this circumstance allowed criminal activities to continue unhindered on the messaging app.

Telegram did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment, and neither the French Interior Ministry nor police issued a comment.

Telegram has become the primary source of unfiltered content from both sides about the war and politics surrounding the conflict after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This content is sometimes graphic and misleading.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his officials have embraced the app as their preferred means of communication. The Kremlin and the Russian government also use it to disseminate their information. It has also become one of the few places where Russians can access information about the conflict.

According to TF1, Durov was arrested around 8:00 p.m. (6:00 p.m. GMT) while traveling from Azerbaijan.

Telegram CEO Durov under pressure over arrest reports; Russia accuses France of totalitarian actions

Forbes estimates Durov's fortune at $15.5 billion. He said some governments have tried to pressure him. However, the app, which currently has 900 million active users, is expected to continue to operate as a “neutral platform” and not a “geopolitical actor.”

The Russian Embassy in France informed the official Russian news agency TASS that Durov's team had not contacted it following the information about the arrest. However, the embassy is taking “immediate” measures to clarify the situation.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's representative to international organizations in Vienna, and several other Russian politicians did not hesitate to accuse France of acting like a dictatorship.

“Some naive people still do not understand that while they play a more or less visible role in the international information space, it is not safe for them to visit countries that are evolving into much more totalitarian societies,” Ulyanov wrote on X.

On August 25 at noon, several Russian bloggers called for protests in front of French embassies around the world.