Pavel Durov, the exiled Russian internet guru and founder of encrypted messenger Telegram, was arrested in France as he disembarked from a private jet, TF1 reported. Le Monde It was reported on August 25th.
Durov, who has held dual French citizenship since 2021, was reportedly arrested at Le Bourget airport outside Paris along with his bodyguard and assistant while returning to his home in St. Petersburg from Azerbaijan.
French investigators have issued a search warrant for him on various offences related to encrypted messaging services, according to people familiar with the case. Le Monde.
The source also expressed surprise that Durov traveled to and disembarked in France knowing he was wanted there, and that France does not extradite its citizens, meaning that if convicted, Durov would remain in a French prison.
The search warrants are reportedly aimed at a range of services, with the investigation alleging that Telegram has not done enough to prevent crimes ranging from fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying and organized crime to terrorism and fraud. Le Monde“Telegram’s impunity has been enough,” one of the anonymous investigators told the daily.
Durov is known for placing few restrictions on the content shared on his service. Telegram’s terms of service prohibit the sharing of illegal content in public groups, but imply that it can be shared in private groups. As a result, the service, which offers reportedly uncrackable end-to-end encryption, has become popular with various criminal groups as a safe way to conduct illegal business.
Recent reports have suggested that Telegram is seeking solutions to comply with European regulations. The Belgian Institute of Posts and Telecommunications (BIPT) is reportedly set to become the body that oversees the operation of Telegram messenger across Europe. BIPT criticized Telegram for not complying with the supervision requirements for Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs).
Meanwhile, in Russia this week, Telegram was disrupted in Russia in a targeted blocking attempt, leading independent media to warn that it may be losing favor with the Kremlin. YouTube’s video streaming service saw its speeds drop by 70% at the end of July, and both Telegram and WhatsApp have been disrupted since then.
Durov himself, whose fortune Forbes estimates at $15.5 billion, is rumored to have sought a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Baku, Azerbaijan. A recent law regarding bloggers with more than 10,000 followers requires social networks and messengers to register with Russia’s Information and Communications Service and to block bloggers who do not sign a contract with the service.
Reports said Putin was trying to meet with the Russian president to prevent Telegram from being blocked in Russia. The Kremlin’s press service officially said Putin declined the meeting, but the Kremlin has become increasingly interested in tightening its grip on the internet and has partnered with a variety of companies, most notably VK, Russia’s version of Facebook. VK is run by Vladimir Kiriyenko, the son of former prime minister Sergei Kiriyenko and now deputy head of the presidential administration.
A recent law regarding bloggers with more than 10,000 followers requires social networks and messengers to register with Russia’s regulator, Roskomnadzor, and blocks bloggers who don’t sign a contract with the agency.
Next bne intellectual newsDurov has recently resumed his media activity and given numerous interviews, including his latest with right-wing American journalist Tucker Carlson, where he again denied any ties between Telegram and the Kremlin and recalled how he had to flee to Dubai after refusing to disclose user data to Russian security services.
But doubts are growing about Durov’s independence from the Kremlin. Wired The FSB reported that it had read private messages on Telegram, which the FSB technically does not have access to, and arrested citizens for making defamatory statements about Russia’s so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine.
In 2018, Durov managed to defy an FSB order to hand over an electronic key that gave access to read undecryptable encrypted messages. When communications watchdog Roskomnadzor tried to block Telegram, the technically astute Durov simply started switching servers, making it impossible to shut down the service. However, as part of its efforts, Roskomnadzor managed to accidentally block its own site.
But in 2020, Telegram made a surprise comeback to the Russian business scene: the messenger app was unblocked in Russia after a two-year standoff with security services and legislatures.
An investigation into Telegram’s fundraising, which has more than 700 million subscribers but has never made a profit, revealed that investors include David Yakobashvili, founder of juice maker Wim-Bill-Dunn Foods, and Roman Abramovich, an oil tycoon who is also close to President Putin.
Notably, the state-run Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and state-owned VTB Bank have also invested more than $1 billion in bonds issued by Messenger, raising concerns about Durov’s willingness to cooperate with the Kremlin.
Telegram, run by Russian internet guru Durov, quickly gained new subscribers in Russia after the full-scale military invasion of Ukraine and the blocking of foreign social networks.
Before launching Telegram in 2013, Durov founded Russia’s largest social network, Vkontakte (now known as VK Group), in 2006. The two businessmen served on the company’s board of directors but were forced out of the company in April 2014. Shortly before stepping down, Durov sold 11.99% of his shares to Megaphone CEO and tech investor Ivan Tavlin, who became one of the main beneficiaries of the Western wealth redistribution following Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine.
Tavlin then sold his shares to the Mail.ru Group, which owned almost 40% of VKontakte and is now controlled by accredited billionaire Alisher Usmanov. The Mail.ru Group also acquired VKontakte shares from the UCP fund, becoming the sole shareholder of the social network. As a result, Usmanov sold his shares in Mail.ru to a state-owned company as the USM Group exited its media assets, strengthening the state’s control over the internet.
Durov is scheduled to appear in a French court on August 26 to be arraigned.
