The chief executive of the popular messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, is to appear in court Sunday after being arrested at Le Bourget airport in Paris on Saturday night.
Durov, 39, is facing a potential 20-year jail term if convicted sources told AFP.
Durov, a Franco-Russian billionaire, arrived in Paris from Baku, Azerbaijan. His arrest comes as part of a preliminary investigation by France’s OFMIN, an office tasked with preventing violence against minors.
The investigation involves serious allegations including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime, and the promotion of terrorism.
One source close to the case explained, “Pavel Durov is accused of failing to take action to curb the criminal use of his platform.”
The situation has sparked international tension, with Russia accusing France of refusing to cooperate.
Russia’s embassy in Paris released a statement, saying, “We immediately asked French authorities to explain the reasons for this detention and demanded that his rights be protected and that consular access be granted. Up to now, the French side is refusing to cooperate on this question.”
The arrest has also drawn reactions from prominent figures. Businessman Elon Musk, who owns the X social media platform, posted the hashtag #FreePavel and commented in French, “Liberté, Liberté! Liberté?” (Freedom, Freedom! Freedom?). Former U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also weighed in, stating, “The need to protect free speech has never been more urgent.”
Telegram, which is based in Dubai, is known for its strong stance on user privacy. The app has positioned itself as an alternative to U.S.-owned platforms, which have been criticized for exploiting users’ personal data. Durov has committed to never disclosing information about Telegram users.
In a rare interview with right-wing talk show host Tucker Carlson in April, Durov explained that he got the idea to launch Telegram after facing pressure from the Russian government while working at VK, a social network he created before selling it and leaving Russia in 2014.
“People love the independence. They also love the privacy, the freedom, (there are) a lot of reasons why somebody would switch to Telegram,” Durov told Carlson, noting that the platform had more than 900 million active users at the time.
By basing Telegram in the United Arab Emirates, Durov has shielded the platform from moderation laws, even as Western countries pressure large platforms to remove illegal content.
Telegram’s structure allows groups of up to 200,000 members, which has led to accusations that the app enables the spread of false information and harmful content.
