Founder and CEO of Telegram Pavel Durov was arrested in France as part of an investigation into crimes related to child pornography, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions on the platform, French prosecutors said Monday.
French President Emmanuel Macron, making the first official confirmation of Durov’s arrest since he was detained at Le Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday evening, said there was no political motive in the arrest, despite many false comments online. He added that France remains deeply committed to lawful free speech.
“The arrest of the Telegram president on French territory took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation,” Macron wrote on X. “This is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to decide.”
In a subsequent statement, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said that Durov, who was born in Russia was arrested as part of a probe into an unnamed person launched by the office’s cybercrime unit on July 8.
The investigation is over suspected complicity in various crimes including running an online platform that allows illicit transactions, child pornography, drug trafficking and fraud, as well as the refusal to communicate information to authorities, money laundering and providing cryptographic services to criminals, the statement said.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the public prosecutor said Durov’s detention had been extended by up to 48 hours late on Monday.
Reuters was unable to reach any lawyer representing Durov.
Telegram is a popular messaging and social media app akin to WhatsApp. The encrypted application, with close to 1 billion users, is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union.
Durov’s arrest prompted criticism from X owner Elon Musk who said that free speech in Europe was under attack, and calls from Moscow for French authorities to accord Durov his rights.
Tensions between France and Russia have been mounting for months, with French authorities accusing Russia of trying to destabilize it ahead of the Paris Olympics in response to its more hawkish stance on the Ukraine war – claims Russia denies.
Durov, a 39-year-old billionaire cast as “Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg,” has dual French and United Arab Emirates (UAE) citizenship.
The UAE Foreign Ministry, in its first comment, said in a statement that it had submitted a request to France “to provide him with all the necessary consular services in an urgent manner.”
At the same time, a senior ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin alleged Washington was behind his arrest.
Without providing evidence, Vyacheslav Volodin, the chair of Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of parliament, said the United States, through France, was attempting to exert control over Telegram.
“Telegram is one of the few and at the same time the largest Internet platform over which the United States has no influence,” Volodin said in a post.
“On the eve of the U.S. presidential election, it is important for (President Joe) Biden to take Telegram under control.”
The White House did not immediately comment on Durov’s arrest.
Estimated by Forbes to have a fortune of $15.5 billion, Durov said in April some governments had sought to pressure him, but the app should remain a neutral platform and not a “player in geopolitics.”
Telegram earlier in a statement gave no details of the arrest but said the Dubai-based company abided by European Union laws and its moderation was “within industry standards and constantly improving.”
“Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe,” Telegram said in a statement. “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”
Kremlin response
The Kremlin on Monday said it had yet to see any official French accusations against Durov.
“We do not yet know what exactly Durov is accused of,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told a news briefing. “With what exactly are they trying to incriminate Durov? Without (knowing), it would probably be wrong to make any statements.”
The Russian Embassy in Paris said on X that French authorities had declined to cooperate with its requests for consular access, but said it was in contact with Durov’s lawyer. The embassy did not respond to a request for comment.
On Tuesday, however, the Kremlin said that serious accusations France has leveled against Durov would be viewed as an attempt to restrict freedom of communication unless they were backed up with serious evidence.
Peskov told reporters on a conference call that Russia was ready to provide Durov with all necessary assistance given his Russian citizenship, but he said Durov’s French citizenship complicated the situation.
“The charges are very serious indeed,” said Peskov. “They require a no less serious basis of evidence. Otherwise, they will be a direct attempt to limit freedom of communication.”
Russia has previously tried, and failed, to block Telegram and fined the company several times for failing to delete what it deemed illegal content.
Peskov said Durov’s case could be seen as intimidation of the head of a large company and cast doubt on an assertion by Macron that there was no political motive in Durov’s detention.
French citizen
Telegram was founded by Durov, a self-confessed libertarian who left Russia in 2014 after he refused to comply with demands to shut down opposition communities on his VK social media platform, which he has sold.
He obtained his French passport in 2021 through a rare, fast-track procedure for high-profile foreigners exempting them from the usual legal requirements, including having lived in the country for at least five years.
The French Foreign Ministry, which is in charge of the procedure, did not reply to a Reuters request for comment. The Elysee presidential office also declined to comment, deferring to the foreign ministry.
According to French law, any foreigner can be granted citizenship under the special rules provided he speaks French and “contributes through his outstanding work to France’s influence and the prosperity of its international economic relations.”
Durov never lived in France and it was unclear what special link he had to the country. On June 10, Durov posted on his Telegram channel: “As a French citizen, I agree that France is the best holiday destination.”
His naturalization procedure is rare, with only 10-20 cases processed each year and each one requiring high-level political support, local media have reported.
Evan Spiegel, the co-founder of Snap, the maker of the Snapchat app, received French citizenship in 2018 under the same program, local media reported at the time. Snap did not respond to a request for comment.
Aside from the citizenships in France and the UAE, Durov has been reported by Russian state media to also have citizenships in Russia and St. Kitts and Nevis. Reuters was unable to verify those reports.
