Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, was arrested in France. He is accused of the messaging service not adequately combating crime via the app, including the distribution of child sexual abuse material.
The 39-year-old Russian-born billionaire was arrested on Saturday at Le Bourget airport north of Paris, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said. The following day, a judge in charge of the case extended his detention from 24 to up to 96 hours.
Before that deadline expires on Wednesday evening, the judge must decide whether to bring charges against Durov or name him as a witness in the investigation and release him.
Durov is being questioned as part of a case initiated by a cybercrime unit of the Paris public prosecutor's office.
The investigating judges handling the case are examining a wide range of allegations, including refusing to help authorities legally monitor suspects, facilitating the sale of child sexual abuse material and aiding and abetting drug trafficking.
Already on Monday, an employee of a French agency founded last year to prevent violence against minors wrote on LinkedIn that the case was about “the platform's lack of moderation and willingness to cooperate.”
In a statement published on its platform on Sunday, the Dubai-based company assured that Durov had “nothing to hide” and that Telegram complies with European laws.
“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of that platform,” the statement said. “We expect a swift resolution of this situation.”
Developed by Durov and his brother Nikolai, a programmer and mathematician, Telegram is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, with 900 million active users. The company's relatively low-key approach to content moderation has led to allegations that it is often used for criminal activity and the spread of extremist material.
Before launching Telegram, the Durov brothers made their fortune by founding the social network VKontakte in 2006. The platform quickly became popular in Russia, and Pavel Durov now has a net worth of over $9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
This success also made Durov a target of the Kremlin. In 2014, he fled the country and sold his shares in VKontakte.
Durov, who lives in Dubai, is a French and Emirati citizen, according to the Telegram website. He has not commented on whether he has renounced his Russian citizenship.
Following Durov's arrest, the Russian embassy in Paris said it had “immediately asked the French authorities for an explanation of the reasons and demanded that they ensure the protection of his rights and provide him with consular access.” It added that embassy officials had contacted Durov's lawyer.
French President Emmanuel Macron posted on X that Durov's arrest was “in no way a political decision” and that it was up to the judges to decide the case.
“It is the judicial system that will independently enforce the law,” Macron wrote.
