French television channel TF1 reported, citing an unidentified source, that Pavel Durov (39), the founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram, was arrested on Saturday evening at Paris Le Bourget airport, in the Paris suburbs.
The TV channel revealed on its website that Durov, who has Russian, French and Emirati citizenship, was travelling on his private plane, adding that he was the subject of an arrest warrant in France.
Durov arrived in France from Azerbaijan, accompanied by his girlfriend and his bodyguard, at a time when the French channel reported that the arrest warrant had been issued due to Durov’s lack of cooperation with French security forces.
He is accused of complicity in a case of “drug trafficking” and other serious crimes, according to information provided by the French television channel. This accusation is explained by the fact that Telegram, the encrypted messaging application, has become an ideal way for criminals to communicate with each other.
Russia Today reported that the main complaint of the European Union authorities against Telegram concerns encrypted messages, as investigators believe that “over the years, Telegram has become the number one platform for organized crime.”
A source close to the case said: “He allowed countless violations and crimes to be committed on his platform.” The channel “TF1” also mentioned accusations of terrorism, money laundering, drug trafficking, fraud and crimes against children.
The channel added that Durov faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years in France. He will appear in court on Sunday as a French citizen.
The platform “Telegram” is the fruit of cooperation between billionaire brothers Pavel and Nikolai Durov in 2013. Before that, in 2006, Pavel founded a Russian social network alternative to Facebook called VKontakte.
As the size of the VKontakte network grew and the number of users increased, Russian authorities took over the platform through businessmen close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, prompting Pavel Durov to leave Russia and launch the Telegram application from a secure headquarters in Berlin.
Today, the British Virgin Islands are the company’s official headquarters, but day-to-day operations are run from Dubai, where Pavel obtained Emirati citizenship.
According to Forbes estimates, Pavel Durov’s net worth today exceeds $15 billion.
