"Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the encrypted messaging service Telegram, was arrested around 8pm this Saturday evening as he got off his private jet on the tarmac at Le Bourget airport. Aged 39, this Franco-Russian was accompanied by his bodyguard and a woman.
The arrest was carried out by the gendarmes of the Air Transport Gendarmerie. Listed in the FPR (wanted persons file), Pavel Durov had arrived straight from Azerbaijan. He had a French search warrant issued by the OFMIN of the national directorate of the French judicial police issued on the basis of a preliminary investigation.
Why was he under threat of a search warrant?
Justice considers that the lack of moderation, cooperation with law enforcement and the tools offered by Telegram (disposable number, crypto, etc.) makes him an accomplice in drug trafficking, pedocriminal offences and fraud.
This search warrant was valid if, and only if, Pavel Durov was on national territory. "He made a blunder tonight. We don't know why... Was this theft just a stopover? In any case, he's in custody!", a source close to the investigation told TF1-LCI. Since he knew he was persona non grata in France, Pavel Durov had been in the habit of travelling to the Emirates, the countries of the former USSR, South America... He travelled very little in Europe and avoided countries where Telegram is under surveillance.
