Written by: Haim Ravia, and Dotan Hammer
Telegram’s founder and CEO, Pavel Durov, was detained at an airport near Paris, France, under an arrest warrant accusing the platform, which has about 900 million users, of enabling serious crimes such as money laundering, child exploitation, fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime, and terrorism. Known for its strong encryption and privacy features, Telegram has been partly driven by a commitment to free speech. However, authorities have criticized the platform, alleging that its refusal to cooperate with law enforcement has made it a haven for criminal networks. The app’s ability to host large groups, combined with limited oversight of user content, has facilitated the spread of misinformation, as well as extremist, neo-Nazi, pedophilic, and terror-related content.
After four days of questioning, Durov was released but is barred from leaving France while the investigation continues. A French judge found sufficient grounds to proceed with the charges and granted Durov bail with a €5 million bond. He must remain in France and report to a police station twice a week.
Durov and his brother founded Telegram in response to the Russian government’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests. As the government tightened its control of the digital space, Telegram’s commitment to privacy made it a popular telecommunication tool in Russia. In 2018, Russia attempted to ban Telegram for refusing to hand over encryption keys but was unable to block access fully.
The arrest warrant was issued by France’s Office for the Prevention of Violence Against Minors (OFMIN) as part of an investigation by the National Anti-Fraud Office in connection with French customs. Durov, originally from Russia and now a resident of Dubai, is a dual French and Emirati national. He is accused of failing to prevent criminal activities on Telegram, particularly online sexual exploitation, including the distribution of child abuse material and grooming for sexual purposes.
The Russian embassy in France criticized the lack of transparency from French authorities and accused Western nations of hypocrisy, claiming that Durov’s arrest was an attack on free speech. The embassy demanded a full explanation for the detention.
