Telegram founder Pavel Durov remains in police custody after being arrested in France two days ago on suspicion of offences related to the messaging app, local media reported Monday, citing investigators.
The detention of Durov, who is wanted in France and was arrested on Saturday after arriving at Le Bourget airport in Paris from Azerbaijan, was reportedly extended on Sunday evening.
According to local media, his arrest came as part of a preliminary investigation into Telegram’s lack of moderation and cooperation with law enforcement regarding drug trafficking, fraud and child abuse on the social media platform.
Telegram said in a statement issued after Durov’s arrest that the online messaging service complies with EU law and has not violated any regulations.
Telegram said in a message on X on Sunday evening that it was “complying with EU law,” including the Digital Services Act (DSA), which aims to ensure platforms quickly remove illegal content from their pages.
“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of that platform,” Telegram said.
“Durov has nothing to hide and travels regularly across Europe,” the company said.
Telegram has long been accused of not taking strong enough action against hate speech and other illegal activities.
The company said the moderation was “within industry standards” and was “continuously improving”.
According to reports, French authorities have been investigating Durov for some time now. They suspect that he is involved in drug trafficking, fraud and various crimes related to child abuse. This is said to be due to a lack of intervention by Telegram and insufficient cooperation from the authorities.
It was initially unclear why Durov, who was born in Russia and has French nationality, had traveled to Paris while he was wanted in France.
The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office initially declined to comment on the case.
According to a statement from the Foreign Ministry in Moscow, quoted by Russian state news agency TASS, the Russian embassy in France has taken up the case.
French authorities have been urged to grant Durov consular access, said Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry. “The only problem is that Durov also has French citizenship,” she said. “Therefore, France will consider him first and foremost its citizen.”
Durov’s relationship with the Russian authorities is considered difficult.
Durov and his brother Nikolai founded Telegram after the launch of VK, a Russian-language social media platform.
Telegram is one of the most important online networks in Russia and is used by many authorities and politicians.
Ukrainian authorities, politicians and the military also frequently use Telegram to publish information about the status of the large-scale Russian invasion.
