According to French news stations TF1 and BFM TV, Telegram’s wealthy CEO and creator Pavel Durov was reportedly arrested on Saturday night at Bourget Airport, which is close to Paris.
According to Reuters, Durov was detained on a French warrant while departing from Azerbaijan on his private jet in connection with an initial police inquiry into Telegram’s potential involvement in aiding illegal activity.
Remarks from Telegram were not immediately available after Reuters reached out to them. Both the French police and Interior Ministry remained silent.
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According to TF1, Durov was travelling from Azerbaijan and was taken into custody at about 20:00 (18:00 GMT).
The 39-year-old Franco-Russian Durov was reportedly accompanied by a bodyguard and a woman when the Air Transport Gendarmerie arrested him, according to a different report from Bitcoinnews.com.
After arriving from Azerbaijan, Durov was arrested via a French search warrant obtained by the French judicial police’s OFMIN because he was on the wanted persons list (FPR). The warrant only became active when he entered France. Google Translated from what a source close to the investigation told the news outlet:
He committed a mistake this evening. We’re not sure why. Was this merely a stopover flight? Either way, he’s under arrest!
Telegram accused of aiding crimes
The National Anti-Fraud Office holds Durov under custody (ONAF). French authorities accuse Telegram of enabling crimes, including fraud, drug trafficking, and terrorism, among other things. The French news site was further informed by a source acquainted with the investigation that:
It continued, “He did nothing to moderate or cooperate for the incalculable number of offences and crimes committed on his platform.”
The price of TONNE fell precipitously after the announcement. As of this writing, it is down 13% from its earlier trading price of $5.96.
From fleeing Russia to being arrested in France
In a similar development, American conservative commentator Tucker Carlson discussed his thoughts on X, pointing out how ironic it is that Durov is being held by a Western nation after the Russian government previously rejected attempts to regulate his platform.
He wrote, “When the Russian government attempted to take over his social media company, Telegram, Pavel Durov fled the country.” However, Putin wasn’t the one who imprisoned him in the end for permitting the public to use their right to free expression.
“He was imprisoned by a Western nation that was also a fervent supporter of NATO and an ally of the Biden administration.
“Tonight, Pavel Durov is incarcerated in France, serving as a live warning to platform owners who defy governments and intelligence services by refusing to censor the truth. The once-free world is rapidly approaching darkness.
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Telegram CEO’s strong stance
In an article titled “What is Toncoin (TONNE)”, published on August 16, 2024, Atomic Wallet named the Durov brothers as the TON’s proprietors.
The Durov brothers, Nickolai and Pavel, set out to create an efficient blockchain in 2018 to serve Telegram’s enormous user base. In this vein, they initiated the GRAMME project after raising $1.7 billion via a private initial coin offering (ICO)—roughly $5 for every US citizen.
“The white paper and the primary blockchain components were created after the funds were raised. As a test before the significant rollout, the Tonne network—formerly known as Gram—was introduced in 2019, the statement stated.
Russian-born Durov, who left Russia in 2014 after being ordered to close down opposition communities on his sold social networking platform VK, is the founder of Telegram, a company headquartered in Dubai.
Forbes values Durov’s wealth at $15.5 billion. He claimed that while certain governments have tried to exert pressure on him, the app, which currently has 900 million active users, needs to continue to be a “neutral platform” rather than a “player in geopolitics.”