KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 – Telegram messaging app founder Pavel Durov was arrested in France Saturday evening, according to international news agencies’ reports.
The Russian billionaire was reported to have arrived in the country via Le Bourget Airport near Paris from Azerbaijan before he was arrested and taken into police custody.
DPA, quoting a local broadcaster, said Durov had been arrested under a warrant for offences related to the app and a preliminary investigation could be initiated against him as early as Sunday.
Meanwhile, Reuters, citing local broadcasters, TF1 TV and BFM TV, reported that the investigation would focus on a lack of moderators which the police considered would allow criminal activities to go undeterred on the app.
Reuters reported that after the Russia-Ukraine conflict started 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.
Durov, who also founded the Russian social media platform VKontakte, created Telegram alongside his brother, Nikolai.
