Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, was detained at the Bourget airport outside Paris and was scheduled to appear in court late on August 25 or 26, French media reported, citing unnamed sources.
The 39-year-old billionaire reportedly arrived from Baku, Azerbaijan, aboard his private jet accompanied by a bodyguard and a personal assistant and was arrested immediately, a source told AFP.
Durov was scheduled to appear in court for alleged offenses related to his popular messaging app.
There was no immediate comment by French authorities, but Telegram issued a statement on X saying that “Durov has nothing to hide” and that it’s “awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation.”
The Paris prosecutor's office plans to make a statement to the press on August 26, Russian state agency TASS reported.
French media reported that France's OFMIN, an office tasked with preventing violence against minors, had issued an arrest warrant for Durov in a preliminary investigation into alleged offenses, including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime, and the promotion of terrorism.
The SOTA Telegram channel reported that Durov was being held in a migration prison at Le Bourget airport, where he can be held for up to four days until a decision is made on his case.
SEE ALSO: As Telegram's Popularity Soars, Is It 'A Spy In Every Ukrainian's Pocket'?The Dubai-based Telegram platform boasts more than 900 million users worldwide. In his first major interview in seven years, which he gave to U.S. commentator Tucker Carlson on April 17, Durov vowed Telegram aims to be a "neutral platform" and not a "player in geopolitics."
In Ukraine, though, critics worry it spreads misinformation and facilitates illegal actions. Some accuse Telegram of ties to the Russian state and of contributing to its war effort.
In 2021, Durov, a native of Russia who left the country about 10 years ago, received French citizenship.
Recently, he has lived mainly in the United Arab Emirates, where the company's office is also located.
Durov, who previously created the Russian social network VKontakte, developed the Telegram messenger in 2013.
He is the main owner of Telegram, which is worth an estimated $30 billion.
In 2018, the Russian authorities temporarily restricted access to Telegram.
The decision was made after the messaging app, as alleged, refused to provide Russia's FSB security agency with encryption keys from users' correspondence, referring to the secrecy of correspondence guaranteed by the constitution.
The decision to block was sharply criticized by many Russian public figures, including critics of the Russian authorities. A mass rally in defense of Telegram was held in Moscow, at which, in particular, then-opposition leader Alexei Navalny spoke.
However, independent Russian media reports indicated that Telegram reached a compromise with the authorities and has been sharing some data with the security services for several years, although that has been denied by Telegram.
With reporting by AFP