Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov says he is still baffled by his detention in France last year, describing the charges against him as legally shaky and politically motivated.
In his first interview since the incident, Durov told American journalist Tucker Carlson that French authorities appeared more interested in how Telegram works than in addressing any actual wrongdoing.
Durov was arrested on 24 August 2024 at Le Bourget Airport near Paris and later indicted on six criminal charges, including money laundering, criminal association, failure to cooperate with law enforcement, and providing unauthorised crypto services.
French prosecutors claimed he had enabled illegal activity by failing to properly moderate content and ignoring official requests.
He was released on bail of $5.46 million but remains under restricted movement, with a recent request to visit the US denied.
In March, he was allowed to return to the United Arab Emirates, where Telegram is headquartered.
Speaking with Carlson on 10 June, Durov admitted,
“I’m still trying to find out, to be honest. I’m confused.”
According to Durov, the arrest had more to do with political pressure than genuine legal failings.
Although French prosecutors alleged that Telegram ignored official legal requests, Durov firmly rejected the accusation.
“At first, they said, ‘Oh, you failed to respond to our legal requests, and that’s why you’re complicit.’ But first of all, it’s not true that we didn’t respond to legally binding legal requests, and secondly, it’s a very extensive interpretation of complicity even for the French [...] legal and judicial system.”
Durov’s legal team described the arrest as “unprecedented,” especially given Telegram’s scale and compliance efforts.
He said,
“[W]e’re a big company, we are audited by a Big Four accounting firm, we work with the biggest financial institutions [...] we spend millions of dollars every quarter on legal compliance [...] to make sure we don’t violate laws anywhere and we operate in almost 200 countries.”
He contrasted Telegram’s operations with those of small, shady apps targeted by law enforcement in the past:
“They prosecuted small applications made specifically for criminals, without bank accounts, without auditing.”
However, according to Durov,
“Telegram is a completely different level: a billion users, auditing, transparency.”
Carlson criticised the arrest as a deliberate attempt to embarrass Durov, saying,
“Obviously, they went way out of their way to humiliate you.”
Durov agreed, saying that French authorities unusually issued public statements, despite normally keeping such matters out of the spotlight.
He added that the accusations – including extremism and child abuse – were not only baseless but absurd given the platform’s size.
Durov explained,
“It’s like arresting Donald Trump because one of the 350 million Americans committed a crime. Or imprisoning Emmanuel Macron for a robbery in Toulouse.”
Despite legal pressures, Telegram continues to expand.
The platform reached one billion monthly active users by March 2025.
Support for Durov has also been significant; the TON Community reported over 9 million users signed a letter demanding his release following the arrest.
Shortly after his detainment, Durov had already warned that Telegram was prepared to exit jurisdictions that clash with its commitment to privacy and freedom of expression.
As the case drags on, Durov has publicly questioned the logic behind the restrictions, stating,
“Why I’m still unable to leave France — a country where less than 1% of Telegram’s billion users reside — remains a mystery.”
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