Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ally said that America was involved in the French arrest of Pavel Durov. Durov is the founder and CEO of Telegram. Telegram is a messaging platform that has played a key role in communication during the Russia-Ukraine war.
Durov is a Russia-born entrepreneur. He was arrested over the weekend in France, as part of an investigation related to crimes such as child pornography and drug trafficking through the platform. French prosecutors said that Durov will remain in police custody for up to 48 hours more.
Without providing evidence, Vyacheslav Volodin, a Russian politician said that the U.S attempted to exert control over Telegram through France.
“Telegram is one of the few and at the same time the largest Internet platforms over which the United States has no influence,” Volodin said in a post.
“On the eve of the U.S. presidential election, it is important for Biden to take Telegram under control.”
The White House has not made comments on Durov’s arrest yet. French President Emmanuel Macron has said that the arrest was “in no way a political decision.”
The Kremlin on Monday said it had yet to see any official French accusations against Durov.
The encrypted Telegram app, based in Dubai, has close to 1 billion users. It is particularly prominent in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union.
After Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Telegram has become the main source of unfiltered – and sometimes graphic and misleading – content from both sides about the war and the politics surrounding the conflict.
(With inputs from Reuters)
