Telegram founder Pavel Durov was arrested shortly after his private jet landed in France, facing charges of terrorism, fraud, and money laundering.

By Juliana Cruz Lima, The Sun

Translated by Eason, Mars Finance

Around 8 p.m. on Saturday, Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, was arrested by the Gendarmerie of Air Transport (GTA) at Bourget Airport in the suburbs of Paris.

According to TF1 Info, the 39-year-old Russian-French man was accompanied by his bodyguards and a woman.

According to the wanted person's file, Pavel Durov arrived directly from Azerbaijan.

French officials issued a search warrant for the Telegram founder based on preliminary investigation results.

Authorities claimed that Telegram's lack of moderation, cooperation with law enforcement, and its provided tools (disposable numbers and cryptocurrencies) made it an accomplice to drug trafficking, terrorism, and fraud.

However, the search warrant is only valid when Pavel Durov is on French territory.

Pavel Durov is a Russian-born entrepreneur and programmer known for founding the social networking site VK (VKontakte) and the messaging app Telegram.

Pavel Durov was born on October 10, 1984, in Leningrad, Russia (now St. Petersburg). Due to VK's similarity to Facebook, he is often referred to as the "Russian Zuckerberg."

In 2006, Pavel Durov launched VKontakte with his brother Nikolai, which quickly became the most popular social network in Russia.

However, his tenure at VK was not without controversy, as Pavel Durov clashed with the Russian authorities over content censorship and requests to provide user data to the government.

In 2014, under increasing pressure, Pavel Durov was forced to sell his stake in VK and leave the company.

After leaving VK, Pavel Durov focused on Telegram, a cloud-based messaging app he and his brother Nikolai launched in 2013.

Telegram is known for its strong emphasis on privacy and security, offering end-to-end encrypted messages, channels for broadcasting to large audiences, and features including self-destructing messages.

Telegram's commitment to privacy has garnered global user support but also drawn criticism from governments worldwide, claiming that the app is used by criminals and terrorists to communicate undetected.

Exile Life

Pavel Durov's self-imposed exile is mainly due to his conflicts with the Russian government over censorship, privacy, and political freedom issues.

Pavel Durov was exiled primarily because he served as the CEO of the social media platform VKontakte (VK) that he founded.

During the 2011-2012 anti-Putin protests, the Russian authorities demanded that Pavel Durov hand over personal data of protest organizers and shut down opposition groups on VK.

Pavel Durov refused to comply with these requests, leading to a conflict with the Russian government.

In 2014, Pavel Durov faced pressure from the Russian authorities again, this time for refusing to block VK organizations supporting the Ukraine European Square protests and for refusing to hand over Ukrainian user data to the FSB (Federal Security Service).

Following these events, he faced legal challenges, and his control over VK was weakened.

In April 2014, Pavel Durov was forced to resign as CEO of VK, and shortly after, he sold his remaining shares in the company.

This resignation and sale were likely not voluntary but a result of immense pressure from the Russian authorities and possibly business interest groups closely related to the Kremlin.

After losing control of VK, Pavel Durov decided to leave Russia, stating that Russia was "not suitable for developing internet businesses at the moment."

Since leaving Russia in 2014, Pavel Durov has been living in self-imposed exile.

He became a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis through an economic citizenship program and has been living a nomadic life in multiple countries.

Pavel Durov continues to advocate for privacy, freedom of speech, and resistance to government surveillance—principles that often conflict with the policies of the Russian government.

What's Next?

Investigators from the French National Office for Combating Fraud (ONAF) have informed him of his charges and detained him. He is expected to appear before investigating judges on Saturday night for trial. By Sunday, he may face multiple charges, including terrorism, drug trafficking, conspiracy, fraud, money laundering, handling stolen goods, and child exploitation.

A investigator told TF1/LCI: "Pavel Durov will definitely be detained before trial." Another source familiar with the case explained, "Countless crimes and illegal activities have occurred on his platform, and he has taken no measures to mediate or cooperate."

Pavel Durov's pre-trial detention seems inevitable. Law enforcement officials believe that as a billionaire, Pavel Durov likely has significant resources to flee, and he lacks convincing assurances to persuade a judge to grant bail.

The news caused a sharp drop in the price of TON. As of writing, the trading price of TON is $5.94, a 13% drop from earlier today.

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