Macron denies arrest of Telegram founder is ‘political’

PARIS, Aug. 27 — President Emmanuel Macron on Monday denied any political links to the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov. The tech mogul spent a second day in French custody after his surprise arrest at a Paris airport.

Many questions have been raised 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 rejected the allegations.

Durov was born in Soviet times into a family of academics in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg. He spent his youth in Italy before founding Russia’s then largest social network, VKontakte (VK), in his early twenties.

He founded Telegram after leaving Russia ten years ago, and Forbes magazine estimates his current net worth at $15.5 billion.

In a post on X responding to what he called “false information” regarding the case, Macron said Durov’s arrest “took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation.”

“It is not a political decision in any way. It is up to the judges to decide,” he wrote in a highly unusual commentary on a court case.

In addition to his Russian nationality, Durov also has a French passport.

‘Nothing to hide

On Monday evening, French authorities again extended his pre-trial detention for questioning until Wednesday, a source close to the investigation said.

Once the initial 96-hour interrogation period is over, the investigating judge can 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 dine 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, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.

A key question 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.

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 tackle criminal use of his platform.

France’s OFMIN, an agency charged 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 responded with the following: “Durov has nothing to hide and travels regularly 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 the misuse of that platform.”

‘Enforce the law

Telegram positions itself as a “neutral” alternative to US platforms, which have been criticized for their commercial exploitation of users’ personal data.

It has also played an important role since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and is actively used by politicians and commentators on both sides of the war.

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

Kremlin spokesman Peskov said Moscow had not received any information from France about why Durov was detained. He said: “We do not know specifically 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 “very 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. — AFP