Macron denies arrest of Telegram founder is ‘political’

There have been numerous questions about the timing and circumstances of Durov’s arrest, which has been extended until Wednesday, according to a source close to the case. The 39-year-old billionaire is accused of failing to curb the spread of illegal content on Telegram, which has more than 900 million users. The company has denied the allegations. Durov was born into a Soviet-era academic family in Leningrad, now known as St. Petersburg, and spent his childhood in Italy before founding Russia’s then-largest social network, VKontakte (VK), in his early 20s. He founded Telegram after leaving Russia a decade ago and Forbes magazine estimates his current fortune at $15.5 billion. In a message on X to respond to what he called “false information” surrounding the case, Macron said Durov’s arrest “has taken place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation.” “This is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to decide,” he wrote in a highly unusual commentary on a legal case. In addition to his Russian nationality, Durov also holds a French passport. ‘Nothing to hide’ On Monday evening, French authorities extended his initial detention for questioning until Wednesday, a source close to the investigation said. Once the initial 96-hour interrogation period is over, the investigating judge could release Durov or file charges and remand him in custody. Durov, who has lived in Dubai in recent years, arrived in Paris from the Azerbaijani capital Baku and planned 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 travel with him, the source added, who asked not to be named. A key question is why Durov flew to France when he likely knew he was wanted in the country. “Maybe he had a sense of impunity,” said a source close to the matter, who asked not to be named. Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Baku on August 18-19 for a state visit to Azerbaijan, although Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the two had met. Durov is accused of failing to take measures to curb criminal use of his platform. France’s OFMIN, an office tasked with preventing violence against minors, has 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. Telegram said in response that “Durov has nothing to hide and travels regularly across Europe.” “Telegram complies with EU law, including the Digital Services Act — moderation falls within industry standards,” it added. “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the abuse of that platform.” ‘Enforce the law’ Telegram has positioned itself as a “neutral” alternative to US platforms, which have been criticized for their commercial exploitation of users’ personal data. It has also played a major role since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, actively used by politicians and commentators on both sides of the war. But critics accuse it of hosting often illegal content, ranging from extreme sexual imagery to disinformation and also narcotics services. Kremlin spokesman Peskov said Moscow had not received any information from France about why Durov was being detained, saying “we do not know concretely what Durov is accused of”. Elon Musk, who heads the Tesla car group and X, formerly Twitter, posted the hashtag #FreePavel on his platform and responded in French: “Liberte Liberte! Liberte?” (Freedom, Freedom! Freedom?). Macron said that while France is “deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication”, such freedoms “are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life”. “It is up to the judiciary, in complete independence, to enforce the law,” he said.