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Thomas Mackintosh
Billionaire Pavel Durov, co-founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested outside Le Bourget Airport Paris TF1 television quoted an unnamed source as saying on Saturday evening.
TF1 said on its website that Durov was travelling on a private plane, adding that he had France.
The 39-year-old is understood to have travelled from Azerbaijan and was arrested at 8pm local time (6pm GMT).
Durov is expected to appear in court on Sunday.
According to officials, the 39-year-old billionaire was arrested for crimes related to the popular messaging app.
The investigation was reportedly due to a lack of administrators, with Durov accused of failing to take steps to curb criminal activity on Telegram.
Mr. Durov was born in Russia and currently lives in Dubai. He holds dual citizenship of the United Arab Emirates and France.
Telegram is particularly popular in Russia, Ukraine and former Soviet countries.
The app was banned in Russia in 2018 after Durov refused to hand over user data. But the ban was lifted in 2021.
Telegram is Rated as one of the major social media platforms After Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and WeChat.
Mr. Durov founded Telegram in 2013. Left Russia in 2014 for refusing to comply with government demands Shutting down opposition communities on the VKontakte social media platform, which he sold.
In a post on Telegram, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova asked Western human rights NGOs whether they would remain silent about Durov’s arrest, after they criticized Russia’s decision in 2018 to “create obstacles for Telegram’s work in Russia.”
Some Russian officials condemned the arrest of the businessman.
X boss Elon Musk, who has been widely criticised for moderation and content on his own social media sites, has posted several times about the situation. He used the hashtag #freepavel in one post and wrote in another: “Opinion: It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme.”
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