Pavel Durov: Russian billionaire owner of Telegram app arrested in Paris for crimes committed online

The billionaire owner of the social media app Telegram has been arrested in France – reportedly over failing to curb crimes on the app.

Pavel Durov, 39, was held under a warrant at Le Bourget airport outside Paris shortly after landing on a private jet late on Saturday. He is in custody.

The Russian-born technology mogul, who lives in Dubai, reportedly stands accused of failing to take action to curb drug trafficking, cyber-bullying, fraud, organised crime and terrorism.

“Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act - its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving,” Telegram said in a statement on the arrest.

“Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe,” it said.

“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”

The move caused outrage, with supporters of the Telegram chief – including X owner Elon Musk – calling for Mr Durov to be freed and demanding the protection of free speech.

Telegram has 950 million users worldwide and the company says it is “committed to protecting user privacy and human rights such as freedom of speech and assembly”.

In a recent TV interview, Mr Durov, who fled Russia a decade ago, insisted Telegram was “neutral” and “we apply the rules equally to all sides”.

Western governments have often criticised Telegram for its lack of content moderating on the messaging service.

Speaking about disputes with governments, he told US broadcaster Tucker Carlson: “Politicians and societies know what to expect from social media platforms and where the red lines are. I don’t necessarily believe that things are going to get worse.”

Telegram is an encrypted messaging app that is “secure and free”.

It has committed to never disclosing information about its users or passing data on to third parties. Intended as a rival to WhatsApp, Telegram users can have “secret chats”, in which messages are stored on devices rather than the cloud, and messages can also be set to self-destruct after a certain time period.

Telegram’s determination to remain “neutral” and not take sides has opened it up to criticism, with terrorists, criminal gangs and extremists using the app as a means of communication It was said to be used by far-Right extremists in the recent violent protests across England.

A Telegram spokesman told the Mail that “calls to violence are explicitly forbidden” and that the app used AI, proactive moderating and “user reports” to remove content that breaches its terms.

Mr Musk hash-tagged one post “FreePavel” and wrote: “It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme.”

US politician Robert F Kennedy Jr posted on X: “The need to protect free speech has never been more urgent.”

In Moscow, paper planes, representing the Telegram logo, were placed near the French embassy as a form of protest.