Russia-born billionaire and Telegram owner Pavel Durov was still being detained for questioning by French police on Monday, local news channel franceinfo reported, after he was arrested and taken into custody at the weekend.
“The police custody is continuing on Monday, …and may last up to four days”, the report said.
The Paris public prosecution office did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment. French authorities have not yet confirmed Durov’s arrest.
A police source told Reuters Durov was arrested at the weekend at a private jet airport close to Paris because he was the subject of an arrest warrant. A cybersecurity gendarmerie unit and the national anti-fraud police unit are leading the
investigation, the source said.
France’s OFMIN agency which is tasked with combating violence against minors, is probing Durov for alleged fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organised crime and promotion of terrorism. He is accused of failing to stop the use of his app for such criminal wrongdoing
“Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe,” Telegram said in a statement on Sunday, adding: “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”
A clutch of television channels said he is being investigated for a lack of moderation on the Telegram platform.
The Russian embassy in Paris has demanded consular access to Durov and demanded that his rights be observed. Russian diplomats, it is reported, are in touch with his lawyer.
Ironically, Durov is believed to be in trouble in Russia after he failed to comply with a court order to grant state security services access to the electronic keys that would enable them to read messages on Telegram. It has been blocked in Russia since 2018.
Tech mogul Elon Musk has criticised the arrest of Durov.
With Reuters inputs
