Telegram founder Pavel Durov arrested in France

Pavel Durov, the 39-year-old founder of messaging app Telegram, was detained by French authorities at Le Bourget airport near Paris on the evening of 24 August.

French media outlet BFMTV reported that the businessman was apprehended upon the arrival of his private jet from Azerbaijan. Sources claim Durov was in Baku simultaneously with Russian President Vladimir Putin, though it’s unclear if they met.

Durov allegedly emigrated from Russia in 2014 and received French citizenship. In recent years, the Telegram CEO has lived in the United Arab Emirates.

French customs’ National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF) detained Durov based on an outstanding arrest warrant. The report states that the arrest warrant was issued by the country’s judicial police as part of a ‘preliminary investigation,’ the details of which have not yet been disclosed.

Durov allegedly knew about the warrant and had been avoiding visits to Europe. It’s uncertain why he chose to travel at this time. French media note that the arrest warrant is only valid in France.

The Telegram founder may face charges related to terrorism, drugs, fraud, money laundering, stolen goods trafficking, and sexual crimes against children. These allegations stem from “Telegram’s lack of content moderation and the messaging app’s administration’s refusal to cooperate with authorities.”

French law enforcement reportedly considers Durov “an accomplice to crimes committed through Telegram due to the use of tools such as cryptocurrency and disposable numbers, and the lack of control over the platform.”

Durov is expected to be formally charged on 25 August. The likelihood of release during the investigation is reportedly “extremely low, as he has significant resources and opportunities to escape.”

While the potential sentence remains unclear, some Russian media outlets, including Izvestia, claimed Durov could face up to 20 years in prison. However, the French lawyer Alain Duflot didn’t reportedly say this in his statement.

What is Telegram and its operation in Ukraine

Telegram was founded in 2013 by brothers Nikolai and Pavel Durov, who had previously created the Russian social network VKontakte (which was blocked in Ukraine in 2017).

Telegram offers end-to-end encryption for secret chats and supports large group conversations and channels for broadcasting messages. Despite facing occasional bans in some countries due to concerns over its encryption capabilities, Telegram has continued to grow and evolve, introducing features like voice calls, video messaging, and a platform for bots.

In Ukraine, the Telegram messenger gained significant popularity after being widely used by Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s team during the 2019 presidential elections. It further surged in usage following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, as authorities of all levels used Telegram to inform the public amidst DDoS attacks on official sites, often making it de facto the main source of official information.

Oleksandr Melnychenko, a representative of the ІSBU’s Department for Counterintelligence Protection of State Interests in Information Security, said in March 2024 that Telegram collaborated with the Russian FSB and Roskomnadzor, complying with Russian requests to block specific channels. Later, in early April, HUR chief Kyrylo Budanov said Telegram posed a national security issue.

Ukraine announced on 29 April 2024 that the Russian-origin Telegram messaging app reinstated access to several chatbots utilized by its security agencies to gather information on Russian aggression. The affected bots belonged to Ukraine’s Intelligence, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Ukraine’s Air Defense bot, and the YeVoroh bot, which tracks Russian troops and equipment.

SBU created several monitoring bots in Telegram for citizens to report the spotted Russian equipment and military or inform them of the missiles or drones flying by. While using it themselves, SBU says it threatens national security.

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