Telegram CEO arrested over probe into child porn, drug trafficking on app
PARIS — Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder of messaging app Telegram, 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 on 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 Durov 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.
Durov can be held until Wednesday, it added. 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, cast as “Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg” has dual French and United Arab Emirates citizenship.
