Pavel Durov, the CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram, was arrested at Le Bourget airport this weekend after refusing to comply with “censorship laws.”
Durov, 39, was detained on the tarmac as he disembarked from his private jet arriving from Azerbaijan.
According to a machine-translated report from TF1, French authorities have accused Durov of “failing to moderate content on Telegram and refusing to cooperate with law enforcement.”
The report claims that Telegram’s features, such as disposable numbers and the use of cryptocurrencies, have made the platform complicit in illegal activities including drug trafficking, pedophile offenses, and fraud.
Durov was taken into custody by investigators from the National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF), which is part of the French Customs Directorate.
The charges could include a wide range of offenses, such as terrorism, drug trafficking, complicity, fraud, money laundering, concealment, and the distribution of pedophile content.