France arrests Pavel Durov, founder of Billionaire Telegram

PARIS – Billionaire Founder of the original Telegram application Russia, Pavel Durov, he was arrested and detained by French police after arriving in Paris by private jet on Saturday.

Durov, who received a French passport in 2021, was arrested at Paris-Le Bourget Airport at around 20.00 local time, according to reports LCI.

He is also a citizen of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saint Kitts and Nevis, and his own country; Russia.

The jet arrived in the French capital from Azerbaijan. A woman and her bodyguard were with the 39-year-old man.

Referring to the report LCIFrench authorities issued an arrest warrant for the tech entrepreneur as part of a preliminary investigation.

The report states that Paris believes that the inadequate evaluation of Telegram, its encryption tools, and the alleged lack of cooperation with the police could lead Durov to be involved in drug trafficking, crimes of pedophilia, and fraud.

Another report from TF1 claims that Durov will appear before a judge tonight. He could face up to 20 years in prison.

Because he is also a French citizen, the founder of Telegram may also face charges of violating sanctions imposed by the European Union on Moscow because of his contacts in Russia.

Durov’s arrest warrant is only valid on French territory. “He made a mistake tonight. We don’t know why,” said a source close to the investigation TF1. “Anyway, it’s locked.”

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