As you exit your private jet at Le Bourget Airport around 8:00 p.m. on Saturday evening, August 24, Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov detained.
He was detained, the French newspaper reports. TV channel TF1, when he stepped off his private jet onto the runway, the 39-year-old French-Russian was accompanied by his bodyguard and a woman. Durov arrived from Azerbaijan and was registered in the wanted persons file. France had previously issued a warrant for his arrest. The authorities' main complaint against Telegram and Pavel Durov personally is the encrypted messages in the messenger:
“Over the years, it has become the number one platform for organised crime.”
TF1 channel notes:
“With the case of Durov's arrest, the authorities are trying to put pressure on European countries to step up joint efforts to suppress the activities of the encrypted messaging service in connection with terrorism.”
Investigators believe that Durov's lack of cooperation with law enforcement, as well as the tools Telegram offers, make him an accomplice to drug trafficking, pedophile crimes, and fraud, the publication says. One of the investigators said:
“Telegram is a hive of criminal content. The platform is currently in the spotlight for illegally streaming matches, but many accounts on the service are used by organized crime. In addition to terrorism, the most dangerous criminals use Telegram to share child pornography.”
It was noted that Durov was due to appear before an investigating judge on Saturday evening ahead of possible indictment on Sunday for a range of crimes. His pre-trial detention after indictment is virtually certain, the publication said. The billionaire has significant funds to flee, and his guarantees of representation are unlikely to convince the judges.
The TF1 publication states:
“For investigators, Telegram is an international high-profile network with various goals. Their investigation and the arrest of the CEO of the network allows them to hit criminals, impress and deter the perpetrators of crimes and offenses that have so far freely used Telegram. It is also an attempt to put pressure on European countries so that they increase their joint work to collapse encrypted messages in terrorist files.”
Justice believes that the lack of moderation, cooperation with law enforcement agencies and the tools offered by Telegram (a one-time number, cryptocurrency, etc.) makes Durov an accomplice to drug trafficking, pedophilia and fraud.
Pavel Durov has visited the Emirates, former Soviet Union countries, South America. He has traveled very little to Europe and avoided countries where Telegram is under surveillance. Investigators from ONAF (National Office for the Fight against Fraud) have placed him in police custody. He is due to appear before an investigating judge on Saturday evening ahead of a possible indictment on Sunday on multiple charges: terrorism, drugs, complicity, fraud, money laundering, concealment, maintenance of child crimes… The events that unfolded tonight are briefly presented as follows:
- Pavel Durov has been remanded in custody.
- He faces up to 20 years in prison.
- The French authorities want to find out about Durov's interactions with the Kremlin.
- The request to search for Durov was made by the department for combating crimes against minors (this is very unpleasant).
- They want to accuse Durov of NOT cooperating with the authorities, covering up terrorists, pedophiles, drug dealers, and so on, because he does not give up anyone.
- The French investigation demands that Durov give them access to the private correspondence of criminals and suspects.
- Durov is to be questioned in connection with suspicions of wiretapping Macron via TG.
Durov will be charged in court on Saturday, the channel summarizes. The French authorities have taken freedom in Telegram for “covering up” crimes. They want to have control over private channels and correspondence to combat crime. Whether Durov will cooperate with the investigation and provide access to encrypted messages – we will find out soon.
Durov became a French citizen in 2021, so he is not subject to exchange or extradition. He is a citizen of four countries: Russia, St. Kitts and Nevis, France and the UAE. It seems that now he has united everyone: liberals, journalists, terrorists, drug dealers and housewives. Absolutely everyone is outraged by his arrest. State Duma deputy Davankov has already written a letter to Lavrov demanding that Durov be “taken away” from the French police. Tucker Carlson and Elon Musk have criticized the West.
Tucker Carlson called for the release of Pavel Durov. The American journalist recalled that the founder of Telegram left Russia after being persecuted by the authorities:
“It wasn't Putin who arrested him for giving the public free speech. It was a Western country, an ally of the Biden administration and an active member of NATO, who locked him up.”
Durov was put on the wanted list just a few minutes before landing in Paris, and an arrest warrant was issued at the same time. The French authorities are checking Durov for possible ties to the Kremlin, Reuters writes. Durov arrived in France from Azerbaijan, and his visit there coincided with Putin's visit. Kremlin publics wrote that, allegedly, “Putin refused to meet with Durov.”
Pavel received a French passport in 2021, which Le Monde called “an exceptional and highly political procedure” and “an astonishing choice by the French authorities that no one wants to talk about.” The naturalization procedure in France usually occurs if:
- a person has roots or relatives in the country,
- he was born in a French-speaking country and also speaks French,
- He has been living in the country for a long time.
Durov did not meet any of the criteria: his only connection to France was his frequent visits to Paris, and the Frenchman Cyril Palinaud, who headed TON Labs, the organization created to implement the Telegram blockchain project. In these circumstances, there is only one procedure by which Durov could obtain naturalization – the so-called “outstanding foreigner” procedure.
This is a very rare and cautious practice, which grants French citizenship on the initiative of the government to a foreigner who, through his outstanding activity, “contributes to the influence of France and the prosperity of its international economic relations.” Vincent Tschen, a professor of public law at the University of Rouen, noted that the application of this rule is extremely rare. How Durov “contributed to the influence of France and the prosperity of its international economic relations” is unknown, the publication notes.
Six months earlier, Pavel Durov had obtained a new passport in the United Arab Emirates, taking advantage of a new provision specifically designed for wealthy foreign investors in a country that almost never grants naturalization. Since 2017, he has lived in Dubai, where Telegram is headquartered.
Sources close to Durov claim that Telegram has an approved action plan in case of the arrest of founder Pavel Durov. What exactly it consists of is unknown, but it is specified that the company will be able to continue to exist and carry out its tasks for now.
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