Telegram’s CEO has been detained for allegedly failing to stop crime on the app

Pavel Durov, Telegram’s chief executive, has been detained in France over claims the messaging service has failed to fight crime on the app, including the spread of child sexual abuse material.

The 39-year-old Russian-born billionaire was stopped on Saturday at Le Bourget airport, north of Paris, according to a statement from Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau. The next day, a judge presiding over the case extended his detention from 24 to up to 96 hours.

Before that deadline expires Wednesday night, the magistrate must decide whether to press charges against Durov or call him as a witness in the investigation and release him.

Durov is being questioned as part of a case initiated by a cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor’s office.

Investigating judges handling the case look at a wide range of charges. These include refusing to help authorities conduct lawful wiretapping of suspects, allowing the sale of child sexual abuse material and supporting drug trafficking.

Earlier Monday, an official at a French agency set up last year to prevent violence against minors wrote on LinkedIn that the case centered on the platform’s “lack of moderation and cooperation.”

In a statement published on its platform on Sunday, the Dubai-based company said that Durov has “nothing to hide” and that Telegram complies with European laws.

“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the abuse of that platform,” the statement said. “We look forward to a prompt resolution to this situation.”

Telegram was created by Durov and his brother Nikolai, a programmer and mathematician, and is one of the most popular messaging apps globally, with 900 million active users. The company’s relatively laissez-faire approach to content moderation has led to accusations that it is routinely used for criminal activity and the dissemination of extremist material.

Before launching Telegram, the Durov brothers made their fortune in 2006 by founding the VKontakte social network. The platform quickly became popular in Russia, and Pavel Durov now has a net worth of more than $9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

This success also made Durov a Kremlin target. In 2014, he fled the country and sold his stake in VKontakte.

Durov, who lives in Dubai, is a citizen of France and the United Arab Emirates, according to the Telegram website. He did not comment on whether he renounced his Russian citizenship.

After Durov’s detention, the Russian embassy in Paris said it “immediately asked the French authorities for an explanation of the reasons and demanded that they ensure the protection of his rights and provide consular access.” He added that embassy officials have contacted Durov’s lawyer.

French President Emmanuel Macron posted on X that Durov’s arrest was “in no way a political decision” and that judges would rule on the case.

“It is the judicial system that will independently apply the law,” Macron wrote.

Photo: Pavel Durov, executive director of Telegram; photo credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

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