French special services detained the founder and CEO of the Telegram messenger Pavlo Durov. This is reported by the TV channel TF1.
It is said that Durov was arrested around 20:00 on Saturday night when he stepped off his private jet onto the runway at Le Bourget airport. The arrest was made by GTA gendarmes.
It is known that he was registered in the FPR (the list of wanted persons) and had just arrived from Azerbaijan.
The warrant was issued due to the fact that Durov did not cooperate with the French law enforcement officers, which allegedly makes him an accomplice in illegal drug trafficking and other serious crimes. It is noteworthy that it was valid if and only if Pavlo Durov was on the territory of France.
“He made a mistake tonight. We don’t know why…” a source close to the investigation told TF1-LCI.
Since Pavlo Durov knew that he was persona non grata in France, he had a habit of traveling to the Emirates, countries of the former USSR, South America, etc. At the same time, he traveled very little in Europe and avoided countries where Telegram was under close supervision.
Investigators from ONAF (National Anti-Fraud Office of the Customs Department) informed him of the suspicion and took him into custody. Durov is now due to appear before an investigating judge before a possible indictment on Sunday for a range of crimes: complicity in terrorism, drugs, fraud, money laundering, pedophile content, and more.
“Pavlo Durov will definitely end up in a pre-trial detention center. “On his platform, he has allowed countless offenses and crimes to be committed that he has done nothing to stop,” a source close to the matter said.
There is no doubt that after the indictment, Durov will be held in custody. The billionaire has considerable means of escape at his disposal, and his guarantees of protection are unlikely to convince the judges.
Updated: According to TF1, Telegram founder Pavel Durov faces 20 years in prison in France. He will soon stand trial as a French citizen. Currently, Durov’s properties in France are being searched.
In addition, French intelligence services will seek access to correspondence related to criminal communities and sanctioned companies and individuals.
“Telegram is a hive of criminal content. The platform is currently in the spotlight for illegally streaming matches, but many accounts on the service are used by organized crime. In addition to terrorism, the most dangerous criminals use Telegram to exchange child porn content,” said one of the investigators.
Pavlo Durov: a story with French citizenship
As reported in the French mass media, Durov received French citizenship in 2021 as a result of, as Le Monde called it, an “exceptional and extremely political procedure.” The naturalization procedure in France usually takes place if a person has roots or relatives in the country, or comes from a francophone country. However, Durov did not fall under any criteria.
Under these circumstances, there was only one procedure by which Durov could have obtained naturalization: the so-called “distinguished foreigner” procedure, a very rare and cautious practice that grants French citizenship at the initiative of the government to a foreigner who, through his outstanding activities, contributes to the influence and prosperity of France its international economic relations. Vincent Tschen, a professor of public law at the University of Rouen, noted that the application of this norm is very rare.
Six months before, Pavlo Durov had already received a new passport in the United Arab Emirates, taking advantage of a new opportunity for wealthy foreign investors in a country that almost never grants naturalization. Since 2017, he has been living in Dubai, where Telegram’s headquarters are also located.
