The founder and CEO of the messaging platform Telegram, Pavel Durovwas arrested on Saturday night in France as he was getting off his private jet with his wife and bodyguard and has been taken into police custody, TF1 reported, citing sources involved in the investigation.
Durov, who had landed at the airport Le Bourget –near Paris– from Azerbaijan, has been arrested by the Air Transport Gendarmerie (GTA) pursuant to a previously issued arrest warrant for offenses related to the messaging app.
Specifically, TF1 has pointed out, the Justice understands that Telegram is a potential ally for the commission of fraud crimes, crimes against minors or drug trafficking among othersgiven the tools it offers, as well as the lack of moderation in its use and the scant collaboration with the authorities.
“He will end up in pre-trial detention, that’s for sure,” investigators close to the case told the aforementioned channel, who have judged that, “on his platform, (Durov) allowed countless crimes to be committed and crimes for which he did nothing to moderate or cooperate.”
After being brought before the police on Saturday evening, a preliminary investigation against the businessman, who is also the founder of the Russian social media platform VKontakte, is likely to begin on Sunday.
