Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested at the Le Bourget airport outside of France over the weekend, where he was arrested as part of a police investigation into a wide range of alleged crimes including money laundering, drug trafficking, and human trafficking.
Durov is a dual citizen of both France and Russia, taken into custody after landing from a private jet at the Paris-Le Bourget Airport on Saturday night. Investigators from the National Anti-Fraud Office, attached to the French customs department notified Durov that he was being placed into police custody.
French media is reporting that the warrant for the Telegram CEO's arrest was issued by France at the request of the special unit at the country's interior ministry in charge of investigating crimes against minors. These charges include online sexual exploitation, including possession and distribution of child sexual abuse (CSA) content and grooming for sexual purposes.
Durov founded Telegram with his brother after the Russian government's crackdown after mass pro-democracy protests took over Moscow back in 2011 and 2012. At the time, the demonstrations prompted Russian authorities to clamp down on the digital world, pushing new regulations that forced internet service providers to block websites and cellphone operators to store all records of messages that could be shared with security services.
Telegram said in a statement: "Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act - its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving. 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 are responsible for abuse of that platform. We're awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation".
