Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Arrested in Paris: Reports

Paris: Pavel Durov, billionaire founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested on Saturday evening at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, according to reports from TF1 and BFM TV, which cited anonymous sources.

Durov, who was travelling in his private jet, was reportedly apprehended under an arrest warrant issued in France related to an ongoing police investigation. The probe focuses on the alleged insufficient moderation on Telegram, which authorities believe has enabled unchecked criminal activities on the platform.

Requests for comments from Telegram, as well as from the French Interior Ministry and police, went unanswered. According to TF1, Durov was flying from Azerbaijan and was detained around 20:00 local time (18:00 GMT).

Durov, a Russian-born entrepreneur who founded Telegram in Dubai, left Russia in 2014 after refusing to shut down opposition groups on his previous social media platform, VK, which he eventually sold.

With a net worth estimated at $15.5 billion by Forbes, Durov has asserted that Telegram, now boasting 900 million active users, should remain a neutral platform, uninvolved in geopolitical matters.