The founder of the messenger service Telegram, Pavel Durov, has been arrested in France. The Russian, who is wanted in France, was taken into police custody at Le Bourget airport on the evening of August 24, 2024 after his arrival from Azerbaijan, as the broadcasters TF1 and BFMTV and other French media reported, citing investigators. The Russian embassy in France has already taken up the case, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry in Moscow quoted by the state-run Russian news agency Tass.
Drug trafficking, terror, child abuse: Telegram under criticism
According to French media reports, Durov was wanted in France because the authorities had launched preliminary investigations against him on suspicion that he was complicit in drug trafficking, fraud and crimes related to child abuse through his failure to intervene in Telegram and inadequate cooperation with law enforcement agencies.
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Telegram eckt oft an
Durov founded Telegram with his brother Nikolai after they had both already launched the network Vk.com, a kind of Russian-language Facebook. Telegram is one of the most important online networks in Russia, and is also used by many authorities and politicians for communication. In Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the service is used by both sides for messages. Durov’s relationship with the Russian authorities is considered difficult. The sale of Vk.com took place under pressure. He had previously refused to pass on data of participants in the protest movement in Ukraine against then-President Viktor Yanukovych to the Russian secret service. He himself fled Russia shortly afterwards.
Data protection versus crime
The Durow brothers promise to protect the data of Telegram users. This is why the eccentric internet billionaire took on the Russian authorities years ago. But there are also accusations against the brothers in the West. The Telegram creators are accused of not taking consistent enough action against hate speech and calls for violence. Western and Russian authorities are said to have succeeded in getting Telegram to delete Islamist terrorist propaganda. (With material from dpa.)
