Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder and chief executive of messaging app Telegram, was arrested at Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday evening, media outlets TF1 TV and BFM TV reported, citing unnamed sources in France.
Telegram – particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union – is ranked as one of the top social media platforms after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and Wechat. Durov’s fortune was estimated by Forbes at $15.5 billion and his app has 900 million active users.
Dubai-based Telegram was founded by Russian Durov, who left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition groups on his VK social media platform, which he sold.
Durov was travelling from Azerbaijan on board his private jet, TF1 reported, adding that he had been the subject of an arrest warrant in France as part of a preliminary police investigation. TF1 and BFM said the investigation focused on a lack of moderators on Telegram and that police believed such a situation would allow criminal activity to continue unhindered via the messaging app.
Telegram did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. The French Interior Ministry and police also declined to comment.
The importance of Telegram for Russia and Ukraine
Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Telegram has become the primary source of unfiltered information from both sides — and sometimes with graphic and misleading content — about the war and the politics surrounding the conflict.
The app is the preferred means of communication for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his officials. The Kremlin and the Russian government also use it to spread news. It has also become one of the few places where the Russian population can access news about the war.
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