According to TF1, the businessman might spend up to 20 years behind bars. The CEO and founder of the messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, was detained on the tarmac of Le Bourget airport in Paris on Saturday, according to a report from the French channel TF1. The list of alleged offences includes receiving stolen goods, money laundering, fraud, terrorism, and the supply of drugs.
Durov, a dual national of France and Russia, was the subject of an arrest warrant issued by OFMIN, a division of the national directorate of the French judicial police, for noncompliance with legal proceedings and possible involvement in drug trafficking, pedo criminal offences, and fraud, according to TF1.
He reportedly arrived by plane from Azerbaijan and was taken into custody at 8 p.m. French time. Durov's warrant could only be served if he was in France. As a result, according to TF1, Durov avoided being arrested in Europe by travelling through South America, the UAE, and the former Soviet states. He allegedly avoided passing through nations where Telegram is monitored.
According to TF1, Durov was taken into custody by French anti-fraud investigators. The CEO is scheduled to appear before a judge on Saturday night, and on Sunday, he could be charged.
Pretrial detention in France is scheduled for Russian telecom activist Pavel Durov for allowing multiple offences and crimes on Twitter. The steps taken by the Russian Embassy in France to elucidate the situation have been confirmed by the Russian Foreign Ministry. The detention of Durov should serve as a cautionary tale to platform operators who decline to suppress the truth at the request of government and intelligence services.
