Telegram CEO arrested over probe into child porn, drug trafficking on app

By Layli Foroudi and Tassilo Hummel

PARIS (Reuters) -Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder of messaging app Telegram, was arrested in France as part of an investigation into crimes related to child pornography, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions on the platform, French prosecutors said on Monday.

French President Emmanuel Macron, making the first official confirmation of Durov's arrest since he was detained at Le Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday evening, said there was no political motive in the arrest, despite many false comments online. He added that France remains deeply committed to lawful free speech.

"The arrest of the Telegram president on French territory took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation," Macron wrote on X. "This is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to decide."

In a subsequent statement, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said Durov was arrested as part of a probe into an unnamed person launched by the office's cybercrime unit on July 8.

The investigation is over suspected complicity in various crimes including running an online platform that allows illicit transactions, child pornography, drug trafficking and fraud, as well as the refusal to communicate information to authorities, money laundering and providing cryptographic services to criminals, the statement said.

Durov can be held until Wednesday, it added.

Reuters was unable to reach any lawyer representing Durov.

Telegram is a popular messaging and social media app akin to WhatsApp. The encrypted application, with close to 1 billion users, is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union.

Durov's arrest prompted criticism from X owner Elon Musk who said that free speech in Europe was under attack, and calls from Moscow for French authorities to accord Durov his rights.

Tensions between France and Russia have been mounting for months, with French authorities accusing Russia of trying to destabilize it ahead of the Paris Olympics in response to its more hawkish stance on the Ukraine war - claims Russia denies.

Durov, a 39-year-old billionaire cast as "Russia's Mark Zuckerberg" has dual French and United Arab Emirates citizenship.

The UAE foreign ministry, in its first comment, said in a statement that it had submitted a request to France "to provide him with all the necessary consular services in an urgent manner".

Estimated by Forbes to have a fortune of $15.5 billion, Durov said in April some governments had sought to pressure him, but the app should remain a neutral platform and not a "player in geopolitics".

Telegram gave no details of the arrest but said the Dubai-based company abided by European Union laws and its moderation was "within industry standards and constantly improving".

"Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe," Telegram said in a statement. "It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform."

The Kremlin on Monday said it had yet to see any official French accusations against Durov.

"We do not yet know what exactly Durov is accused of," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a news briefing. "With what exactly are they trying to incriminate Durov? Without (knowing), it would probably be wrong to make any statements."

The Russian embassy in Paris said on X that French authorities had declined to cooperate with its requests for consular access, but said it was in contact with Durov's lawyer. The embassy did not respond to a request for comment.

FRENCH CITIZEN

Telegram was founded by Durov, a self-confessed libertarian who left Russia in 2014 after he refused to comply with demands to shut down opposition communities on his VK social media platform, which he has sold.

He obtained his French passport in 2021 through a rare, fast-track procedure for high-profile foreigners exempting them from the usual legal requirements, including having lived in the country for at least five years.

The French foreign ministry, which is in charge of the procedure, did not reply to a Reuters request for comment. The Elysee presidential office also declined to comment, deferring to the foreign ministry.

According to French law, any foreigner can be granted citizenship under the special rules provided he speaks French and "contributes through his outstanding work to France's influence and the prosperity of its international economic relations."

Durov never lived in France and it was unclear what special link he had to the country. On June 10, Durov posted in his Telegram channel: "As a French citizen, I agree that France is the best holiday destination."

His naturalization procedure is rare, with only 10-20 cases processed each year and each one requiring high-level political support, local media have reported.

Evan Spiegel, the co-founder of Snap, the maker of the Snapchat app, received French citizenship in 2018 under the same programme, local media reported at the time. Snap did not respond to request for comment.

Aside from the citizenships of France and the United Arab Emirates, Durov has been reported by Russian state media to have also the citizenships of Russia and of St Kitts and Nevis. Reuters was unable to verify those reports.

(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel, Elizabeth Pineau and Gabriel Stargardter in Paris and Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow; Additional reporting by Hatem Maher in Cairo; Writing by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Alison Williams, Andrew Heavens and Sandra Maler)