France denies that Durov’s arrest is a “political decision”

Paris. President Emmanuel Macron on Monday denied that the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov was “political,” as the Russian-born tycoon remains in police custody since his arrest in France on Saturday.

Durov’s arrest after arriving by plane late on Saturday at Le Bourget airport outside Paris has raised questions about the timing and circumstances of his arrest.

Sources close to the case have said the 39-year-old billionaire is suspected of failing to take action to prevent criminal use of the Telegram platform, which has more than 900 million users.

Durov, born in 1984 to a family of academics during the Soviet era in present-day St. Petersburg, spent his childhood in Italy before creating the largest Russian social network VKontakte (VK) and later Telegram.

In a post on social media platform X, Macron criticised “false information” about France’s role in the arrest of Durov, who left Russia a decade ago, saying it “took place in the context of an ongoing judicial investigation”.

“This is not a political decision. It is up to the judges to decide,” wrote the French head of state, in a very unusual message on social media regarding an ongoing legal case.

“Nothing to hide”

The investigating judge on Sunday evening extended the pre-trial detention, which can last up to 96 hours at most, according to another source close to the case.

When this phase is over, the judge will be able to decide whether to release Durov — whose fortune the magazine Forbes estimated at 15.5 billion dollars– or press charges and order preventive detention.

The tycoon, who has been living in Dubai in recent years and also holds a French passport, arrived in Paris from Baku and was scheduled to dine in the French capital, according to sources close to the case.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also visited Azerbaijan on August 18 and 19, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the two had met.

France’s child violence prevention agency OFMIN had issued an arrest warrant for Durov as part of an investigation into several crimes, including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organised crime and promoting terrorism, another source said.

Durov is under judicial scrutiny for failing to take steps to curb criminal use of his platform. But Telegram responded that he “has nothing to hide and frequently travels to Europe.”

“Telegram complies with EU laws, including the Digital Services Act (…) It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for abuses,” the company said.

Telegram has positioned itself as an alternative to American messaging platforms, which have been criticised for their commercial exploitation of users’ personal data.

Messaging also plays a key role in the war in Ukraine following the Russian invasion and is actively used by politicians and observers on both sides.

But critics accuse it of hosting content that is often illegal, from extreme sexual images to disinformation and drug-buying services.

Peskov said Moscow had not received any information from France about why it was holding him.

X boss Elon Musk posted the keyword #FreePavel on his social network and the comment in French: “Freedom! Freedom! Freedom?”

Macron said that his country “is committed to freedom of expression and communication” and that it is up to the justice system “to comply with the law, with total independence.”