Telegram CEO Pavel Durov arrested at Paris airport

French authorities apprehended Telegram CEO Pavel Durov at an airport north of Paris.

According to reports from French media, Mr. Durov was apprehended upon the arrival of his private jet at Le Bourget Airport.

Officials have confirmed that the 39-year-old billionaire has been arrested under a warrant for offences connected to the widely-used messaging app.

According to reports, the investigation centres around Mr Durov's alleged failure to address the insufficient moderators on Telegram, which resulted in the platform being used for criminal activities.

Mr Durov, a Russian native, currently resides in Dubai. He is a citizen of both the United Arab Emirates and France.

Telegram has gained popularity in Russia, Ukraine, and other former Soviet Union countries.

In 2018, the app faced a ban in Russia due to Mr. Durov's refusal to comply with the request to hand over user data. However, in 2021, the ban was overturned.

Telegram has emerged as a prominent player in social media, joining the ranks of other popular platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and WeChat.

In 2013, Mr. Durov established Telegram, a messaging platform. However, in 2014, he left Russia after refusing to comply with government requests to close down opposition communities on his previously owned VKontakte social media platform.

Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, recently took to Telegram to question whether Western human rights NGOs would remain silent regarding Mr. Durov's arrest. This comes after these NGOs previously criticized Russia's actions in 2018, accusing the country of impeding Telegram's operations within its borders.

The arrest of the businessman has been met with condemnation from several Russian officials.

Elon Musk, the owner of X, has been intensely scrutinized for the moderation and content on his social media platform. He took the time to post multiple times to address the situation. In one of his posts, he used the hashtag #freepavel. At the same time, in another, he described a hypothetical scenario: "Imagine this: It's the year 2030 in Europe, and you find yourself facing execution simply for enjoying a meme."