Who is Pavel Durov, Telegram Founder Arrested in France?

Paris: Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested by French police at an airport near Paris on Saturday. Officials stated that the arrest was related to alleged offenses concerning the popular messaging app.

The Franco-Russian billionaire was detained by authorities at Le Bourget Airport, located north of the French capital, on Saturday evening, according to an anonymous source who spoke to a global news agency.  

Who is Pavel Durov?

Pavel Durov is a 39-year-old Russian-born entrepreneur and founder of Telegram, a widely-used messaging app that competes with major social media platforms like Meta's WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok.

Telegram aims to reach over a billion active monthly users within the next year and currently hosts 900 million users.

The platform holds significant influence in Russia, Ukraine, and the nations under the former Soviet Union republics, and became a crucial source of information for Russia amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Both Moscow and Kyiv officials heavily rely on Telegram, with some analysts describing it as a virtual battlefield for the conflict.

Departure from Russia

Durov, who is also the founder of VKontakte, was forced to leave Russia in 2014 after refusing to provide VKontakte's user data to Russian security services.

The Russian-born founder of Telegram, which has nearly 900 million users, is currently based in Dubai. He became a French citizen in 2021.

In an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson, Durov explained about his departure from Russia and his search for a new base of operations, which has taken him to cities like Berlin, London, Singapore, and San Francisco.  

He stated further in the interview that, he would prefer freedom over material possessions, or property and also revealed that he owns no major assets like real estate, jets, or yachts, and prioritises personal liberty. 

 Failures in Telegram Moderations

Durov was under the scrutiny of French authorities, and an arrest warrant was issued for alleged failures in moderating Telegram, which reportedly facilitated money laundering, drug trafficking, and the distribution of pedophilic content.

On Saturday evening, officers from France's anti-fraud office, associated with French customs, detained the French-Russian billionaire upon his arrival at Bourget Airport from Azerbaijan, according to several global media outlets.