Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Arrested at French Airport for Alleged Irregularities in App

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.  

Durov was traveling from Baku, Azerbaijan, as per sources.

 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.

Durov's Flee From Russia

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

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.