Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founding father of messaging app Telegram, was arrested in France as a part of an ongoing judicial investigation, and there was no political motive, French President Emmanuel Macron mentioned on Monday.
Macron’s assertion on X amounted to the primary official affirmation of Durov’s arrest, practically two days since he was detained at Le Bourget airport outdoors Paris shortly after touchdown on a personal jet from Azerbaijan.
The dearth of official affirmation had led to hypothesis concerning the causes behind his detention. Macron mentioned he had learn “false data right here relating to France following the arrest of Pavel Durov”, including the nation was deeply dedicated to free speech.
“The arrest of the Telegram president on French territory occurred as a part of an ongoing judicial investigation,” Macron wrote. “That is by no means a political choice. It’s as much as the judges to resolve.”
A police spokesman mentioned Durov is underneath investigation by the nationwide cybercrime and fraud places of work for failing to cooperate over cyber and monetary crimes on Telegram, a well-liked messaging and social media app akin to WhatsApp. He’s nonetheless in custody, the spokesman mentioned.
Durov’s arrest prompted criticism from X proprietor Elon Musk who mentioned that free speech in Europe was underneath assault, and calls from Moscow for French authorities to accord Durov his rights.
Tensions between France and Russia have been mounting for months, with French authorities accusing Russia of making an attempt to destabilise it forward of the Paris Olympics in response to its extra hawkish stance on the Ukraine conflict — claims Russia denies.
‘Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg’
Durov, a 39-year-old billionaire solid as “Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg” has twin French and United Arab Emirates citizenship. Estimated by Forbes to have a fortune of US$15.5-billion, Durov mentioned in April some governments had sought to stress him, however the app ought to stay a impartial platform and never a “participant in geopolitics”.
Telegram gave no particulars of the arrest however mentioned the Dubai-based firm abided by EU legal guidelines and its moderation was “inside business requirements and continually enhancing”.
“Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to cover and travels regularly in Europe,” Telegram mentioned in an announcement. “It’s absurd to assert {that a} platform or its proprietor are liable for abuse of that platform.”
Learn: Telegram CEO arrested in Paris
When requested about his arrest, the Kremlin on Monday mentioned it had but to see any official French accusations in opposition to Durov. “We don’t but know what precisely Durov is accused of,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov instructed a information briefing. “With what precisely are they making an attempt to incriminate Durov? With out understanding, it might in all probability be fallacious to make any statements.”
The Russian embassy in Paris mentioned on X that French authorities had declined to cooperate with its requests for consular entry, however mentioned it was involved with Durov’s lawyer. The embassy didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Telegram was based by Durov, who left Russia in 2014 after he refused to adjust to calls for to close down opposition communities on his VK social media platform, which he has offered.
The encrypted software, with near a billion customers, is especially influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the previous Soviet Union. Durov, who was born in Soviet Leningrad and graduated from St Petersburg State College, lists his political opinions as “libertarian”.
He obtained his French passport in 2021 by means of a particular process for high-profile foreigners exempting them from the same old authorized necessities, together with having lived within the nation for no less than 5 years.
The French overseas ministry, which is in control of the process, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. The Elysee presidential workplace additionally declined to remark, deferring to the overseas ministry.
Based on French legislation, any foreigner might be handed citizenship underneath the particular guidelines offered he speaks French and “contributes by means of his excellent work to France’s affect and the prosperity of its worldwide financial relations”.
Durov by no means lived in France and it was unclear what particular hyperlink he needed to the nation. On 10 June, Durov posted in his Telegram channel: “As a French citizen, I agree that France is the most effective vacation vacation spot.”
Uncommon
His naturalisation process is uncommon, with solely 10-20 instances processed annually and every one requiring high-level political help, native media have reported.
Evan Spiegel, the founding father of Snap, the maker of the Snapchat app, acquired French citizenship in 2018 underneath the identical programme, native media reported on the time. Snap didn’t reply to request for remark.
Russian state media reported that Durov additionally had the citizenships of Russia and of St Kitts and Nevis. — Tassilo Hummel, Elizabeth Pineau, Gabriel Stargardter and Man Faulconbridge, (c) 2024 Reuters
