The founder and CEO of Telegram Pavel Durov was arrested on Saturday evening by the French authorities at the Le Bourget airport near Paris. He was arrested while he was leaving for Azerbaijan via a private jet. Now, the company said in a post that its CEO has “nothing to hide.”
“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,” the company said in a post on its official channel on Telegram app. “Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe.”
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The company added, “Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as means of communication and as a source of vital information.” “We’re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all.”
Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram was arrested by the French authorities citing his failure to adequately moderate content on the platform during his leadership. According to the warrant, Telegram became a hub for criminal activities, including drug trafficking, fraud, and the distribution of pedophilic material. Additionally, the use of features like disposable phone numbers and cryptocurrency on the platform allegedly facilitated these illicit activities.
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When he was arrested, he was accompanied by his bodyguard and a woman, according to a report by French outlet TF1 Info. The arrest was executed by gendarmes from the Air Transport Gendarmerie (GTA).
This arrest follows increased scrutiny of Telegram by European authorities. Durov, who has been labelled a persona non grata in France, reportedly avoided travel to countries where the app was under heavy surveillance. Before his arrest, he was travelling between the United Arab Emirates, former Soviet Union countries, and South America.
As one of the most influential figures in the tech industry, Durov’s situation is closely watched.
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