Telegram founder, Pavel Durov, is detained at an airport in France; Understand the case
The Telegram CEO was arrested as he disembarked from his private jet on the runway at Le Bourget airport. The arrest took place pursuant to an arrest warrant, as reported on TV.
Pavel Durov was arrested at Bourget airport, on the outskirts of Paris, on Saturday night, time local - Photo Reproduction / Albert Gea / Reuters
Pavel Durov, founder of the popular messaging app Telegram, was detained on Saturday (24) by French authorities at Le Bourget airport, near Paris, as reported by TF1 TV, which cited an unidentified source. The arrest took place on the airport tarmac, around 8pm local time (3pm in Brazil), while Durov was disembarking from a flight on his private jet from Azerbaijan.
The Russian embassy in France told Russian state news agency Tass that it had not yet been contacted by Durov's team following reports of his arrest. However, the embassy is taking "immediate steps" to clarify the situation. The Reuters agency tried to obtain a position from Telegram, but did not receive a response until the last update of this report. The French Interior Ministry and police also declined to comment.
What We Know So Far
According to French newspapers, there was a search warrant for Durov, issued on the basis of a preliminary investigation. The Court considers that the lack of moderation and lack of cooperation with authorities in relation to the tools offered by Telegram make Durov an accomplice in cases of drug trafficking, crimes against children and fraud, as reported by the news.
Pavel Durov's History
Pavel, a Russian-born businessman residing in Dubai, where Telegram is headquartered, holds French and UAE citizenship. With a fortune estimated at US$ 15,5 billion by Forbes, Durov left Russia in 2014 after refusing to meet demands to shut down opposition communities on his social media platform VK, which he sold. Pavel Durov is widely recognized for his libertarian stance and for founding Telegram, a platform that prioritizes privacy and freedom of expression, often coming into conflict with governments around the world.
Telegram
Telegram was created in 2013 by Russian brothers Pavel and Nikolai Durov and operates with servers in several regions and uses encryption to protect messages, ensuring that only the recipient has access to the content. Furthermore, the application offers the option of secret conversations that can be configured to automatically delete themselves after a set period. With more than 500 million active users, Telegram has already faced blocks and censorship in several countries, due to Durov's refusal to collaborate with authorities who demand access to users' communications.
In interviews, Pavel Durov revealed that the idea for Telegram came up in 2011, after an attempted invasion of his home by Russian special forces. Realizing the lack of a secure way to communicate with his brother, he decided to develop the app. Before Telegram, in 2006, Pavel and his brother created the social network "VKontakte" (or "VK"), the largest in Russia and one of the most visited globally, often called the "Russian Facebook".
