PAVEL DUROV, THE chief executive and co-founder of the encrypted messaging app Telegram, was arrested in France on Saturday.
The 39-year-old was detained at Paris-Le Bourget airport in relation to a judicial inquiry opened last month involving 12 alleged criminal violations on his platform.
They include complicity in selling child sexual abuse material, drug trafficking, fraud, abetting organised crime transactions, and refusing to share information or documents with investigators when required by law.
The timing and circumstances of Durov’s arrest sparked speculation online, prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to deny that his arrest was related to politics and was instead part of an independent investigation.
Here’s everything you need to know about Durov and the app at the centre of the probe.
Born in Russia in 1984, Durov is a billionaire and tech entrepreneur based in Dubai. As well as Russia, he is also a citizen of France, the United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean island nation of St Kitts and Nevis.
While still in his 20s, the Saint Petersburg native shot to fame in Russia after founding the VKontakte (VK) social network which catered to the needs of Russian-language users and outgunned Facebook throughout the former USSR.
Durov fled Russia after VK caught the Kremlin’s attention and allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin took control of the social network.
After disputes with the Russian authorities and ownership battles, he sold out of VKontakte and founded a new messaging service in 2013: Telegram.
Durov typically avoids traditional media interviews, but in April, he sat down with far-right US journalist Tucker Carlson for an extensive discussion.
People “love the independence. They also love the privacy, the freedom, (there are) a lot of reasons why somebody would switch to Telegram,” Durov told Carlson.
He often posts messages on his own Telegram channel, claiming to lead a solitary life, abstaining from meat, alcohol and even coffee.
In July, he boasted of being the biological father of more than 100 children thanks to his sperm donations in a dozen countries, describing this as a “civic duty” in an attitude to parenting that echoes that of X and Tesla owner Elon Musk.
According to Forbes magazine’s latest estimate, Durov’s fortune is $15.5 billion (€18 billion). But Toncoin, the cryptocurrency he created, has plummeted by more than 15% since the announcement of his arrest.
Durov founded Telegram in 2013 with his brother Nikolai.
Durov said he came up with the idea for Telegram when he called his brother during a stand-off near his home in St Petersburg, which followed the 2011 demonstrations over parliamentary elections.
“I realised I don’t have a safe means of communications” with his brother, Durov told The New York Times. “That’s how Telegram started.”
In July, Durov claimed that Telegram had reached 950 million monthly active users. But the app has proved controversial, with critics condemning an alleged lack of control on extreme content.
Durov has refused to allow the moderation of messages on the app, which allows users to post video, pictures and comments on “channels” that can be followed by anyone.
It also has public and private groups where up to 200,000 people can communicate at a time. For comparison, WhatsApp only allows 1,024 in a group chat. Critics have said misinformation can spread much more easily in groups of such a large size.
Telegram offers users end-to-end encryption for their communications, meaning messages can only be read on the device that sends them and the device that receives them.
However, unlike other messaging apps, this is not the default setting and users must switch it on to encrypt their chats.
Telegram has previously had to take action on the use of its features by terror group Isis to spread propaganda and direct terrorist attacks. In 2019, Europol recognised Telegram for its “considerable effort” in rooting out users and content that glorified “violent extremism”.
The app is known to be used by both Ukrainian and Russian troops following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Observers say Russian troops have grown to rely on Telegram in their day-to-day operations, using the encrypted app for everything from the transfer of intelligence to course-correcting artillery attacks and guiding Iskander missile systems.
The app is also known to host conspiracy theories, along with extremist and far-right content.
Durov arrived in Paris from the Azerbaijani capital Baku, and was planning to have dinner in the French capital, a source close to the case said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Baku on a state visit to Azerbaijan on 18 and 19 August, though Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied that the two had met.
The Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said Durov was arrested as part of a judicial investigation that was opened on 8 July, following a preliminary investigation by the National Jurisdiction for Combating Organised Crime (Junalco).
She said the investigation was opened against “persons unnamed” and involves 12 charges. According to Beccuau’s office, these are:
While Durov remains in custody, he has not yet been charged.
Telegram has said that it abides by EU laws, “including the Digital Services Act – its moderation is within industry standards”.
“Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe,” it added. “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”
⚖️ Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act — its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving.
— Telegram Messenger (@telegram) August 25, 2024
✈️ Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe.
😵💫 It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner…
Russian government officials have expressed outrage at Durov’s detention, with some calling it politically motivated and proof of the West’s double standard on freedom of speech.
The outcry has raised eyebrows among Kremlin critics because in 2018, Russian authorities themselves tried to block Telegram but failed, withdrawing the ban in 2020.
On Sunday, Elon Musk shared a clip on X of Durov’s interview with Tucker Carlson in which he praised the Tesla owner’s acquisition of the site formerly known as Twitter, along with the hashtag ‘FreePavel’.
On Monday, in a post on X to address what he called “false information” concerning the case, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Durov’s arrest was “in no way a political decision”.
Macron said his country “is deeply committed” to freedom of expression but “freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights”.
I have seen false information regarding France following the arrest of Pavel Durov.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 26, 2024
France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation, and to the spirit of entrepreneurship. It will remain so.
In a state governed by the rule of law,…
“It is up to the judiciary, in full independence, to enforce the law,” he said.
The UAE foreign ministry said that it was “closely following the case” and had asked France to provide Durov “with all the necessary consular services in an urgent manner”.
The Russian embassy in Paris has claimed that consular officials were denied access to Durov because French authorities view his French citizenship as his primary one.
A statement from the Paris prosecutor’s office said Durov’s police custody order was extended on Monday evening for up to 48 hours.
After that, authorities must release or charge him, the prosecutor’s office said in an earlier statement.
With reporting from © AFP 2024
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