Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Arrested in France Over Alleged Offenses Related to Messaging App, Russia Gives Warning to France

France has not officially confirmed the arrest of this 39-year-old tech billionaire. However, two French police sources and a Russian source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Durov was arrested on Saturday shortly after arriving at Le Bourget airport near Paris on a private jet from Azerbaijan. Elon Musk, owner of social media platform X, has said on Durov’s arrest that freedom of expression is being attacked in Europe.

A French police source said that before the landing of Durov’s private jet, it was known that he was included in the passenger list. Due to the arrest warrant against Durov in France, the police arrested him. In this case Telegram In a statement, the company said, “Telegram complies with all laws in the European Union (EU), including the Digital Services Act. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and frequently travels in Europe. It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of that platform.” According to Forbes estimates, Durov has a net worth of more than $ 15 billion. He said in April that the governments of some countries are putting pressure on him.

Durov has dual citizenship of France and the United Arab Emirates. He has been arrested for alleged crimes committed due to lack of moderators on Telegram and for not cooperating with the police. The French government and police have not commented on this. Russian MP Maria Butina, who spent 15 months in jail in the US for being an unregistered agent of Russia, said that Durov is a political prisoner. He has become a victim of a conspiracy by Western countries.

(This news has not been edited by the NDTV team. It has been published directly from the Syndicate feed.)