Durov has ‘nothing to hide’, says Telegram after arrest in France

Pavel Durov, co-founder of encrypted messaging app Telegram, was arrested at an airport near Paris – Copyright AFP/File Saeed KHAN

Stuart Williams

France on Monday detained Russian-born Telegram founder Pavel Durov for a second straight day for questioning over alleged wrongdoings related to the popular but controversial messaging app, insisting he had “nothing to hide.”

His arrest after arriving at Le Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday evening is the latest extraordinary twist in the career of one of the world’s most influential tech icons.

The detention of Durov, 39, was extended beyond Sunday night by the investigating judge handling the case, a source close to the investigation said. This initial period of detention for questioning could last up to 96 hours.

When this period of detention is over, the judge can decide to release Durov, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes magazine at $15.5 billion, and can press charges and keep him in custody for longer.

Russia has accused France of “refusing to cooperate” while fellow tech magnate Elon Musk has come to Durov’s defense and called for his release. Durov holds a French passport among other nationalities.

Durov had arrived in Paris from Baku, Azerbaijan, and was planning to have dinner in the French capital, a source close to the matter said.

He was accompanied by a bodyguard and a personal assistant who always accompany him, added the source, who asked to remain anonymous.

France’s OFMIN, an agency charged with preventing violence against minors, had issued an arrest warrant for Durov in a preliminary investigation into alleged crimes including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime and promoting terrorism, another source said.

Durov is accused of failing to take measures to tackle criminal use of his platform.

Telegram responded with the following: “Durov has nothing to hide and regularly travels around Europe.”

“Telegram complies with EU law, including the Digital Services Act — its moderation falls within industry standards,” it added. “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for abuse of that platform.”

– ‘Attack on fundamental human rights’ –

Durov founded Telegram in 2013 after his first project, the Russian social network VKontakte (VK), ran into ownership issues he blamed on the Kremlin. He left Russia in 2014.

Telegram has become extremely popular, partly because of the ease with which you can watch and post videos to the messaging channels.

However, critics accuse the site of hosting often illegal content, ranging from extreme sexual images and disinformation to drug purchase services.

The Russian embassy in Paris said it had demanded access to Durov but had received no response from France, saying “the French side refuses to cooperate.”

Musk, who heads the Tesla car group and the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, posted the hashtag #FreePavel on X and responded in French: “Liberte Liberte! Liberte?” (Freedom Freedom! Freedom?).

US whistleblower Edward Snowden, who sought asylum in Russia, denounced “an assault on the fundamental human rights of expression and association” and said he regretted that Paris had “stooped to the level of taking hostages as a means of gaining access to private communications.”

– ‘Give expression to their freedoms’ –

One of the main questions is why Durov flew to France, when he probably knew he was wanted in the country. “Maybe he had a sense of impunity,” said a source close to the case, who asked not to be named.

Telegram, an encrypted messaging app based in Dubai, positions itself as a “neutral” alternative to US platforms, which have been criticized for their commercial exploitation of users’ personal data.

It also plays an important role in the war between Ukraine and Russia after Moscow invaded the neighboring country.

The app is used by Kiev, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, in regular video statements to convey Ukraine’s message, but also by the so-called Russian “Z-bloggers” who strongly support the war and report from the front.

In a rare interview with right-wing talk show host Tucker Carlson in April, Durov predicted that Telegram would have a billion users by next year and stressed that despite his wealth, his priority was to be “free.”

“My mission in life was to set other people free too… and through the platforms we created, I hoped they could express their freedoms. That’s the mission of Telegram.”