Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder and CEO of the popular messaging platform Telegram, was apprehended at Bourget airport near Paris on Saturday evening, as reported by TF1 TV and BFM TV, citing unnamed sources. The investigation reportedly centers around the absence of moderators on Telegram, a situation that authorities believe has facilitated criminal activities on the platform.
As of now, Telegram has not issued a response to inquiries from Reuters, and both the French Interior Ministry and police have refrained from commenting on the matter. Meanwhile, Russian officials, who have previously attempted to ban Telegram, are taking steps to "clarify" Durov's situation.
Insights into Durov and Telegram
Born in Russia, Durov, 39, is the visionary behind Telegram, a free messaging service that competes with major social media platforms like Facebook's WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and WeChat. The platform is on a trajectory to reach over one billion active monthly users within the next year.
Telegram holds significant influence in Russia, Ukraine, and the former Soviet republics, serving as a vital source of information regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Both Moscow and Kyiv officials utilize the app extensively, leading some analysts to describe it as "a virtual battlefield" for the war.
Durov's fortune is estimated by Forbes to be around $15.5 billion. He departed Russia in 2014 after resisting government demands to dismantle opposition communities on his social media platform, VKontakte, which he subsequently sold. In August 2021, Durov became a French citizen and relocated both himself and Telegram to Dubai in 2017. Reports indicate that he has also acquired citizenship in the United Arab Emirates and holds citizenship in St. Kitts and Nevis, a dual-island nation in the Caribbean.
In 2018, Russia initiated a blockade of Telegram after the app declined to comply with a court order mandating access for state security services to its users' encrypted messages. This move had minimal impact on Telegram's availability in Russia but ignited mass protests in Moscow and drew criticism from various NGOs.
The rising popularity of Telegram has attracted scrutiny from several European nations, including France, particularly concerning security and data breach issues. In May, EU tech regulators announced that they were in discussions with Telegram as it approached a critical usage threshold that could subject it to stricter regulations under a significant EU online content law.
Reflecting on his departure from Russia, Durov stated in an April interview with U.S. journalist Tucker Carlson, "I would rather be free than to take orders from anyone," highlighting his pursuit of a suitable base for his company, which included temporary relocations to cities like Berlin, London, Singapore, and San Francisco.
