Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has been arrested in France and detained by agents from France’s National Anti-Fraud Office, according to French news site TF1.
Durov was arrested after traveling from Azerbaijan with a woman and his bodyguard to Paris’ Le Bourget Airport, which caters exclusively to private jets. The report states that OFMIN, France’s investigative agency against child sexual exploitation, issued a search warrant for him based on preliminary investigations.
News reports indicate that Durov typically travels very little in Europe, perhaps to avoid being detained in this manner, as the news site notes that his arrest warrant is only valid on French territory.
TF1 predicts that Durov will likely meet an investigating judge on Saturday evening and then potentially be indicted on Sunday on charges of “…multiple crimes: terrorism, drugs, conspiracy, fraud, money laundering, receiving stolen goods, child crime content,” and possibly more.
An investigator from France’s National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF), who detained Durov, said: “It is certain that Pavel Durov will end up in pretrial detention… countless crimes were allowed to take place on his platform, and he did nothing to mitigate or cooperate with them.” (The Block)